Nik Emch

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Nik Emch (* 1967 in Bern ) is a Swiss graphic artist, musician, visual and performance artist.

Life

After attending the Rudolf Steiner School in Zurich, he studied graphics at the Zurich School of Applied Arts . He also trained as a guitarist, u. a. with Michel Seigner and at the Zurich Conservatory . During his studies from 1984 to 1989 he founded the punk rock band “Playboys” together with the comic artist and singer Thomas Ott . In parallel to their appearances, Emch already had a few solo exhibitions.

From 1992 Nik Emch began to experiment with airbrush and the color cyan . This was followed by solo and group exhibitions at the Kunsthaus Zürich , Helmhaus Zürich , Galerie Art Magazin and Galerie Susan Wyss. He was awarded the Federal Prize for Fine Art three times . Several works were purchased by the art collection of the city of Zurich, the canton of Zurich and the Migros Museum für Gegenwartskunst Zurich.

In 1994 Nik Emch founded Minimetal together with Laurent Goei . In this formation, as an art-punk-music project, they developed their own performance language from 1994 to 2014, which they call sound sculpture . The performances of Mini Metal were in squats, off spaces shown galleries, theaters and art houses. From 2001 to 2004 Nik Emch showed a series of sound sculptures under the title “999” in the Walcheturm art space , in the Blue Hall and in the Migros Museum for Contemporary Art Zurich.

Artistic work

In 1994 Nik Emch composed 11 punk rock songs. This resulted in a long collaboration with the artist and friend Laurent Goei. The eleven songs (11 mantras ) are the basis for many performances by Minimetal between 1994 and 2014.

With this understanding, Nik Emch developed the sound sculptures 999 from 2001 to 2004 . In it, the artist dealt with the staging of drums, guitar and bass - the three instruments of rock . The conclusion and amalgamation of these three performances was the performance “nine DJs” in the Migros Museum für Gegenwartskunst Zurich.

In 2011 Nik Emch composed 12 new songs for two guitars. After 30 years of playing the electric guitar ( Gibson SG ), he took up the acoustic guitar ( Guild ) to explore the beginning (or the end) of rock music. Inspired by Duncan MacDougall , the new project is called 21 Grams .

Solo and group exhibitions (selection)

999 - Soundsculptures (selection)

  • 2001: 9 Drums Kunstraum Walcheturm, Zurich
  • 2002: 9 Guitars Blauer Saal, Zurich
  • 2003: 9 Bass Migros Museum for Contemporary Art, Zurich
  • 2004: 9 Dj's Migros Museum for Contemporary Art, Zurich

Minimetal - Soundsculptures (selection)

  • 1998: Velvet Underground Kunsthaus Zürich, curator Bice Curiger
  • 2003: Voodoo dans la sud de la france Swiss Institute New York, curator Marc-Olivier Wahler
  • 2008: Kill them all Center Culturel Suisse, Paris F, featuring Martin Ain , artistic director Klaus Herge
  • 2008: Acid Gallery Nicola von Senger
  • 2008: Kill them all in paradise Galerie Hard Hat, Geneva, featuring Martin Ain, curator Fabrice Stroun and Balthasar Lovay
  • 2008: Acid Swiss Institute New York, curator Gianni Jetzer
  • 2010: Super biker girl Theaterhaus Gessnerallee, directors Niels Ewerbeck and Katja Loepfe
  • 2010: Never hang around Avant Art Festival Wrocław Poland, curator Kostas Georgakopulos
  • 2010: Problems Art Stations Foundation, Stary Browar Poznań , Poland, directors Joanna Lésnierowska and Gilles Jobin
  • 2011: Problems Stadtgalerie Bern, curator Anja Braun
  • 2013: Never hang around Theater Arsenic, Festival Les Urbaines, Lausanne, curator Patrick de Rham

Prices

  • 1997: Federal grant for fine art , Switzerland
  • 1998: Federal grant for fine art, Switzerland
  • 1999: Art grant from the City of Zurich CH
  • 1999: Federal grant for fine art, Switzerland

literature

  • Minimetal - 11 Mantras , Verlag Patrick Frey, N ° 209, ISBN 978-3-906803-09-8 , paperback, 260 pages, 307 color illustrations.
  • Burkhardt, Bettina: Drawing by numbers. Art in architecture from the perspective of eleven artists . Zurich, Kunstgriff bookstore, 2000.
  • Lichtin, Christoph, et al .: Contemporary art in Solothurn. Exhibitions - Projects - Protagonists, 1850 to 2000 . Kunstverein Solothurn, 2000, p. 229
  • Mettler, Peter, Nik Emch - "m" , Verlag Andreas Züst, 1995
  • Unobstructed view of the Mediterranean , exhibition and catalog: Bice Curiger, ISBN 3-906574-02-4 (Kunsthaus Zürich)
  • Robert Fischer, Pidu Philipp Russek (Hrsg.): Art in Switzerland . Kiepenheuer & Witsch, 1991. ISBN 978-3-462-02111-0 (p. 190)
  • Fashion Drive: Extreme fashion in art, catalog for the exhibition, Kunsthaus Zürich. ISBN 3-7356-0432-3

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Köbi Gantenbein , Alois Martin Müller (ed.): Added values. Switzerland and design, the 80s . Museum for Design Zurich, 1991, ISBN 978-3-907-06539-6 , p. 74
  2. ↑ http://www.nikemch.com/0_airbrush/index.html
  3. ↑ Art Facts.Net: solo exhibition Nick Emch retrieved December 8, 2014
  4. ↑ Acquisitions by the City of Zurich 06-10, accessed on December 8, 2014
  5. ↑ https://soundcloud.com/minimetal
  6. ↑ http://urbaines.ch/archives/fr/list/53eb3bf0c0a50a2632000018
  7. ↑ http://swissinstitute.net/event/minimetal/
  8. ↑ http://messagesalon.ch/artist/nik-goei/
  9. ↑ http://www.ccsparis.com/archives/?xid=7&nav=programmation&menu=3&sn=2&csn=1&ct=&full=45  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.ccsparis.com  
  10. ↑ http://swissinstitute.net/event/minimetal/
  11. ↑ Pure spirit and pure punk. In: nzz.ch. September 23, 2010, accessed October 14, 2018 .
  12. ↑ http://www.artstationsfoundation5050.com/wystawy/wydarzenie/minimetal-performance/453
personal data
SURNAME Emch, Nik
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss musician, graphic designer and artist
DATE OF BIRTH 1967
PLACE OF BIRTH Bern