Luca Frei

Born 1976 in Lugano, Switzerland
Lives and works in Malmö, Sweden

1992-1997 Centro Scolastico Industrie Artistiche, Lugano
1997-2000 Edinburgh College of Art (BA Hons), Edinburgh
1999-2000 Yale University School of Art, New Haven, Connecticut
2000-2002 Malmö Art Academy (MFA), Malmö

Solo Exhibitions

2024
Guiding Fabric, Galerie Barbara Wien, Berlin, Germany (February)

2022
Studio Dabbeni, Lugano, Switzerland

2021
working spacing moving, Museum Dhondt-Dhaenens, Deurle, Belgium

2020
Luca Frei. From Day To Day (Från dag till dag), Malmö Konsthall, Malmö, Sweden

2019
Process charts pLay, Galerie Barbara Wien, Berlin, Germany

2015
Hermann Scherchen: alles hörbar machen II, Galerie Barbara Wien, Berlin, Germany
Hermann Scherchen: alles hörbar machen I, Studio Dabbeni, Lugano, Switzerland

2014
L’Economia della Forma, Studio Dabbeni, Lugano, Switzerland

2013
Thursday followed Wednesday and Tuesday followed Monday and there was Sunday and there was Saturday and there was Friday (curated by Sabine Rusterholz Petko), Kunsthaus Glarus, Switzerland
Lygia Clark Pavilion in collaboration with Falke Pisano, Capacete, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

2012
Two Lives, A Bridge, Galerie Barbara Wien, Berlin, Germany
LISTE 17, Basel (solo show with Elastic Gallery, Malmö), Switzerland
Fifth Business (curated by Fanny Gonella), Bonner Kunstverein, Bonn, Germany
Februari, Elastic Gallery, Malmö, Sweden

2011
9 settembre - 29 ottobre, Studio Dabbeni, Lugano, Switzerland

2010
The end of summer, Museo Cantonale d’Arte, Lugano, Switzerland
They stared back at him with an expression of vicious, acrid boredom that trembled on the edge of violence, Balice Hertling, Paris, France
1012 KD, If I Can’t Dance Tonight, Frascati Theatre, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

2009
Swiss Institute, Milano, Italy
Statements, Art 40 Basel (solo show with Balice Hertling, Paris), Switzerland

2008
Watch Out, Studio Dabbeni, Lugano, Switzerland
Ingleby Gallery, Edinburgh, Scotland
Luca Frei: Studies/Play, Lunds Konsthall, Lund, Sweden

2007
Elastic gallery, Malmö, Sweden
Come in, Friends, The House is Yours!, NABA, Milano, Italy

2005
Words & Works & Worlds, Marabouparken Annex, Stockholm, Sweden

2004
To Imagine Action, Studio Dabbeni , Lugano, Switzerland

Group Exhibitions & Projects

group shows

2021
Merz! Flux! Pop!, (Exhibition design), Henie Onstad Kunstsenter, Høvikodden, Norway

2020
Beyond Measure, Trondheim kunstmuseum, Trondheim, Norway

2019
Bauhaus Imaginista: Still Undead, Zentrum Paul Klee, Bern, Switzerland
Bauhaus Imaginista: Still Undead, Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin, Germany
Migration: Traces in an Art Collection, Malmö Konstmuseum, Sweden
Migration: Traces in an Art Collection, Tensta Konsthall, Spånga, Sweden
A Situation, Tallin City Art Gallery, Estonia
Animalesque / Art Across Species and Beings, BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead, England
Animalesque / Art across Species and Beings, Bildmuseet Umeå University, Sweden

2018
Der grosse Anspruch des kleinen Bildes, Galerie Barbara Wien, Berlin, Germany
It’s Your Turn, Eacc - Espai D’Art Contemporani de Castelló, Spain
Bauhaus Imaginista: Correspondence, National Museum of Modern Art Kyoto, Japan

2017
When My Eyes Saw and When My Ears Heard, Hollybush Gardens, London, UK
Show and Tell, Malmö Konstmuseum, Malmö, Sweden
Fotonoviembre 2017, XIV Bienal Internacional de Fotografía de Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain
Goya Curtain, Tokyo, Japan
Groundhog Day, SIC, Helsinki, Finland
1977, L’Onde Théâtre Centre d’art, Vélizy-Villacoublay, France
Swiss Art Awards Exhibition, Messe Basel, Hall 3, Basel, Switzerland
Murmur, Netwerk Centre for Contemporary Art, Aalst, Belgium
In(de)finiti luoghi. Utopie architettoniche e realtà artistiche, Museo Civico Villa dei Cedri, Bellinzona, Switzerland

2016
Project at "Present Future", artissima, Turin, Italy
Falke Pisano, The value in mathematics – How do we learn? (curated by Anja Casser) Badischer Kunstverein, Karlsruhe, Germany
Zeit verstreichen. Moment und Dauer in der Gegenwartskunst (curated by Patricia Bieder), Kunstmuseum Solothurn, Switzerland

2015
making everything audible, Studio Dabbeni, Lugano, Switzerland
Kilometre of Sculpture, (curated by Andreas Nilsson), Võru, Estonia
Unlearning to Speak, (curated by Thomas Cuckle), Kunstraum, London, UK
Exhibition display for Carla Zaccagnini / Runo Lagomarsino, (curated by Diana Baldon and Nicola Lees), Malmö Konsthall, Sweden
Intérieurs aus der Sammlung des Glarner Kunstvereins, Kunsthaus Glarus, Switzerland
Lokale, (curated by Pia Rönicke and Johanne Løgstrup), Flensborggade 57 ,Copenhagen, Denmark

2014
Exhibition display for El contrato (curated by Bulegoa z/b), AlhóndigaBilbao, Bilbao, Spain
The Influence of Furniture on Love (curated by Gyles Round & Lotte Juul Petersen), Wysing Arts Centre, Cambridge, UK
Ti–Ch: Arte svizzera nelle acquisizioni del Museo Cantonale d’Arte 1999–2014, Museo Cantonale d’Arte, Lugano, Switzerland
HOUSE: Anna Fasshauer, Lubaina Himid, Karl Holmqvist, Falke Pisano & Luca Frei, Belén Uriel, Hollybush Gardens, London, UK
Exhibition display for Keywords, Art, Culture and Society in 1980’s Britain, in collaboration with Will Holder (curated by Grant Watson and Gavin Delahunty), Tate Liverpool, UK
Don’t Embarrass the Bureau, (curated by Matteo Lucchetti) Lunds Konsthall, Sweden
Family, IMO Projects, Copenhagen, Denmark

2013
Victor, A, Judge William, Johannes (de silentio), Constantin, Vigilius, Nicolaus, Hilarius, Johannes (Climacus), H.H., Anti-Climacus et. al, Fotografisk Center, Copenhagen, Denmark
Neo Povera (curated by Harmony Murphy) L&M Gallery, Los Angeles, USA
Drawing Biennial 2013 , Drawing Room, London, UK
Exhibition display for Keywords, Art, Culture and Society in 1980’s Britain, in collaboration with Will Holder, (curated by Grant Watson and Gavin Delahunty) Iniva, London, UK
The Architectural Ellipsis (curated by Ruth Estevez and Javier Toscano), Centro Cultural Universitario Tlatelolco, Mexico D.F.
A Parliament of Lines (curated by Euan Gray), The Pier Arts Centre, Orkney, Scotland

2012
Jahresgaben 2012 , Bonner Kunstverein, Bonn, Germany
Oil on Water Calming Effect (curated by Sandra Vaka Olsen), Skur2, Stavanger, Norway
LandscapesCitiesPeople (curated by Frank Maes), Netwerk, Aalst, Belgium
Around Every Corner, Elastic Gallery, Malmö, Sweden
A Parliament of Lines (curated by Euan Gray), Edinburgh City Art Centre, Edinburgh, Scotland

2011
Homus Economicus (curated by David Bussel), MD72, Berlin, Germany
Be Patient With People Who Stutter (with Niklas Lichti and Felix Meyer), Dingum, Berlin, Germany
Again, A Time Machine, Spike Island, Bristol, UK
Terms of Belonging (curated by Aileen Burns and Johan Lundh), Overgaden, Copenhagen, Denmark
Swiss Art Awards, Basel, Switzerland
Imagine Being Here Now, 6th Momentum Biennale, Moss, Norway
Performing the Curatorial, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
Aufruf zur Alternative (curated by Lisa Schmidt), Schmela Haus, Düsseldorf, Germany

2010
Exodus (curated by David Bussel), International Project Space, Birmingham, UK
Exhibitions (curated by Tessa Giblin), Project arts centre, Dublin, Ireland
Fun palace (curated by Tiphanie Blanc, Yann Chateigné Tytelman, Vincent Normand), Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France
Modernautställningen (curated by Fredrik Liew, Lisa Rosendahl, Gertrud Sandqvist), Moderna Museet, Stockholm, Sweden
The secret confession, Edinburgh College of Art, Edinburgh, Scotland
12th Cairo Biennial, Cairo, Egypt
Kunst und Architektur – Zwei Wettbewerbe, Kunst-Raum des Deutschen Bundestages, Berlin, Germany
Edstrandska Stiftelsens Stipendium, Malmö Konstmuseum, Malmö, Sweden
Les Interlocuteurs (curated by Mathilde Villeneuve), La Vitrine, Paris, France
Learning Machines (curated by Marco Scotini), NABA, Milano, Italy
Display 2, Studio Dabbeni, Lugano, Switzerland
From dusk till dawn (If I Can’t Dance, I Don’t Want To Be Part Of Your Revolution), Van Abbe Museum, Eindhoven, The Netherlands
The Incidental Person (curated by Antony Hudek), Apexart, New York, USA
Berlin-Paris, un échange de galeries, Galerie Neu / Mehringdamm 72, Berlin, Germany
The sun is the tongue, the shadow is the language, Ancient & Modern, London, UK

2009
Exhibition display for Cornelius Cardew: Play for today (curated by Grant Watson), The Drawing Room, London, UK
Exhibition display for Textiles (curated by Grant Watson), M HKA, Antwerp, Belgium
Generosity is the new political (curated by Lotte Juul Petersen), Wysing Arts Centre, Cambridge, UK
Swiss Art Awards 2009, Basel, Switzerland
An Unexpected Thought, Function in Contemporary Art (curated by Lene Crone Jensen, Stina Edblom), Göteborg Konsthall, Göteborg, Sweden
In May (After October) (curated by Tim Saltarelli), Gallery TPW, Toronto, Canada
It’s Not for Reading, It’s for Making, FormContent, London, UK
Gennariello, Balice Hertling, Paris, France
Come in, friends, the house is yours! (curated by Anja Casser), Badischer Kunstverein, Karlsruhe, Germany
Exhibition display for Search for the Spirit (curated by Grant Watson), MuHKA, Antwerp, in collaboration with Cultuurcentrum Mechelen, Mechelen, Belgium
Audio, Video, Disco (curated by David Bussel), Kunsthalle Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland

2008
After October (curated by Tim Saltarelli), Elizabeth Dee Gallery, New York, USA
Democracy in America: The National Campaign (curated by Sofía Hernández Chong Cuy), Creative Time, New York, USA
Archaeology of Longing (curated by Sofía Hernández Chong Cuy), Kadist Art Foundation, Paris, France
A Town (Not a City) (curated by Giovanni Carmine, Thomas Boutoux), Kunsthalle Sankt Gallen, Sankt Gallen, Switzerland
Three interventions by Luca Frei, Marine Hugonnier and Sean Snyder (curated by Sören Grammel), Grazer Kunstverein, Graz, Austria
Museum as a Medium (curated by Pablo Fanego, Pedro de Llano), MARCO Museo de Arte Contemporaneo, Vigo, Spain
Object, The Undeniable Success Of Operations (curated by Krist Gruijthuijsen), SMBA, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Exhibition display for Disobedience (curated by Marco Scotini), Nottingham Contemporay, Nottingham, UK
Art Cannot be Untaught (curated by Caterlian Riva), La Rada, Locarno, Switzerland

2007
Modelle für Morgen (curated by Nicolaus Schafhausen, Vanessa Joan Müller, Julia Höner), EU Kunsthalle, Cologne, Germany
Imagine Action (curated by Emily Pethick), Lisson Gallery, London, UK
Der Prozess (curated by Marco Scotini), 3rd Prague Biennial, Prague, Czech Republic
Cities from Below (curated by Marco Scotini), Fondazione Teseco, Pisa, Italy

2006
Open Studios, IASPIS, Stockholm, Sweden
Protections (curated by Adam Budak), Kunsthaus Graz, Graz, Austria
Jump Into Cold Water (curated by Katarina Schlieben, Sønke Gau), Shedhalle, Zürich, Switzerland
Grazer Kunstverein, Graz, Austria

2005
Publish and be damned, Casco, Utrecht, The Netherlands
9th Istanbul Biennial (curated by Charles Esche, Vasif Kortun), Istanbul, Turkey
Collective Creativity (curated by WHW), Kunsthalle Fridericianum, Kassel, Germany
The Invisible Insurrection of a Million Minds (curated by Chus Martinez, Lars Bang Larsen, Carles Guerra), Sala Rekalde, Bilbao, Spain

2004
Normalizacija (curated by WHW), Galerija Nova, Zagreb, Croatia
Balancing Acts, Centre Culturel Suédois, Paris, France

2003
Total Motiviert (curated by Maria Lind, Sören Grammel, Katharina Schlieben), Kunstverein München, Munich, Germany
Everything was to be done. All the adventures are still there, Arbetsrum, Rooseum, Malmö, Sweden

Selected Bibliography

2017
In(de)finiti luoghi, Utopie architettoniche e realtà artistiche, edited by Carole Haensler Huguet, Museo Civico Villa dei Cedri (Bellinzona)

2016
Zeit Verstreichen, edited by Patricia Bieder, Verlag für Moderne Kunst (Kunstmuseum Solothurn)

2015
Over you / You, edited by Nicola Lees and Stella Bottai, The International Centre of Graphic Art (Ljubliana)El Contrato, edited by Bulegoa z/b, Azkuna Zentroa (Bilbao)

2014
Luca Frei. Thursday followed Wednesday and Tuesday followed Monday and there was Sunday and there was Saturday and there was Friday, Spector Books, Leipzig, Kunsthaus Glarus, Gagarin, 28/2014 (Antwerp)

2013
Hans Rudolf Reust, "Luca Frei "” Linien in Zeitflächen," Kunstbulletin (Zürich)
Slanted Magazine #22 – Art Type , Autumn/Winter, MAGMA (Karlsruhe)
The Architectural Ellipsis, edited by Ruth Estevez and Javier Toscano, Centro Cultural Universitario Tlatelolco (Mexico D.F.)
Ahali: An Anthology for Setting a Setting, edited by Can Altay, Bedford Press (London)
Robert Nelson, "Drawing a line between symbol and meaning," The Sydney Morning Herald

2012
BRIGHT! Typography between Illustration and Art, MAGMA (Karlsruhe)
A Parliament of Lines, edited by Euan Gray & David Patterson, The City of Edinburgh Museums and Galleries (Edinburgh)
Cynthia Krell, "Luca Frei: The Fifth Business," Kunstbulletin (Zürich)
The Fifth Business, with texts by Fanny Gonella and Larry Busbea, Bonner Kunstverein (Bonn)

2011
25Pages, edited by Manuel Burgener (Zürich)
No Order. Art in a Post-Fordist Society, Archive Books (Berlin)
Aufruf zur alternative, exh. cat. Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen (Düsseldorf)
Imagine Being Here Now, exh. cat. 6th Momentum Biennale (Moss, Norway)

2010
The addition, edited by Krist Gruijtijsen, JRP Ringier Kunstverlag (Zurich)
Be nice, share everything, have fun, Walther König (Köln)
Histories of the present, Nottingham Contemporary (Nottingham)
Modernautställningen, exh. cat. Moderna Museet (Stockholm)
12 Cairo Biennale, exh.cat. Cairo Biennale Foundation (Cairo)
The secret confession, exh. cat. Edinburgh College of Art (Edinburgh)
Luca Frei: The end of summer, exh. cat. Museo Cantonale d’Arte (Lugano)
"Sin referentes", Santiago García Navarro, Exit express, May (Madrid)
"The sun is the tongue", Jonathan Griffin, Frieze, May (London)
"Isabelle Cornaro, Luca Frei, Falke Pisano", Mark Prince, Frieze, January (London)
"Isabelle Cornaro, Luca Frei, Falke Pisano", Anna Altman, Art in America (New York)

2009
Museum as a medium, exh. cat. MARCo (Vigo) Koldo Mitxelena, (San Sebastian)
"Cornelius Cardew: Play for Today", Michael Hampton, Frieze, November (London)
"Generosity is the New Political", Laura mclean-ferris, Art monthly, september (london)
Dream Politics, issue n 1-2, UKS forum (Oslo)
Temporary urban structures, Urban Pedestals/Förlaget Asterisk (Århus)
Generosity is the New Political, Andrew Hunt, Frieze, September (London)
"Ouverture", Vincenzo de Bellis, Flash Art, August-September (Milano)
Search for the Spirit, exh. cat. muhka, Antwerp
"Curated", metropolis m, June (Utrecht)

2008
Cross Section: Glasgow International Festival Of Contemporary Visual Art, exh. cat. (Glasgow)
Lucy Steeds, Art Monthly, July-August 2008 (London)
Chimurenga Vol. 12/13: Dr. Satan’s Echo Chamber, March (Cape Town)
An interview between Luca Frei and Santiago García Navarro, Lunds Konsthall (Lund)

2007
The so-called utopia of the centre beaubourg - An interpretation, Bookworks (London)
The So-Called Utopia of the Centre Beauborg: An Interpretation

Luca Frei

Appearing under the pseudonym Gustave Affeulpin in 1976, and coinciding with the inauguration of the Centre Beaubourg in Paris, Albert Meister’s fictional text La soi-disant utopie du centre Beaubourg imagines a radical libertarian space submerged beneath the newly erected center-piece of French Culture. In a world turned upside down, the seventy-six storeys submerged beneath the official centre for culture provide a platform for alternative modes of work and creation. Reporting, in sometimes hysterical, sometimes more poetic language, and with tongue firmly in cheek, the narrator recounts the vacillations of free organisation, in a satire that never takes its eye of the main target: state sponsored culture.

This is the first translation and publication of La soi-disant utopie du centre Beaubourg in English, a project undertaken by the artist Luca Frei as an attempt to both revitalise a significant cultural treatise incorporating many elements of Meister’s sociological thinking, and to reflect upon the subjective role of the artist in transferring ideas from one cultural framework and era to another.

Elizabeth Schambelan, "The View from Below", Artforum, October 2007 (New York)
Mark Crinson, "In the bowels of the fun palace", Mute magazine, October (London)
Dan Fox, "Imagine Action", Frieze, October (London)
Caroline Menezes, "Artists imagine action to stimulate change", Studio International, October 2007 (London)

2006
Lars Bang Larsen, "Making room for learning and un-learning; jugglers and public space", Frieze, September (London)

2005
Istanbul, 9th Istanbul Biennial, exh. cat. (Istanbul)
Alex Farquharson, "Invisible Insurrection", Frieze, September (London)
Collective Creativity, exh. cat., Kunsthalle Fridericianum (Kassel)

2004
Maria Lind, "Soft and strict strands", 00tal, #17/18 (Stockholm)
Charles Esche, "Luca Frei", CREAM 3, Phaidon, (London)

2003
Drucksache, Kunstverein München, Spring 03 (Munich)