Urban Zellweger b. 1991

Exhibitions
Works
Overview
Urban Zellweger (b. 1991, Zürich, Switzerland) lives and works in Zürich. In his paintings and drawings he creates whimsical worlds of scenes that might come out of a fever dream.
 
Recurring motifs like a classically Swiss ski sweater, or his signature alien, and a clown nose that might also be a snail. And over and over again the horse that merges into a human figure but is very far from a classic centaur. Working in thin layers of paint Zellweger covers the canvas multiple times. Often one of the layers consists of a fog-like whitewash which dissolves the motifs painted prior and creates a dream-like scenario. The appearance of the curtain in his works signifies the division of the in- and outside world, marking different mind spaces that merge.
While mundane events and biographical occurrences feed into Zellweger’s visual lexicon they can hardly be recognized as such. Normality is distorted with a surrealist wit and yet everything seems perfectly calm.
Biography
Zellweger has exhibited at Kunstverein Nürnberg, Istituto Svizzero, Milan, LUMA foundation, Zurich, Astrup Fearnley, Oslo, Plymouth Rock, Zurich and Shoot the Lobster, New York, amongst others.