Décor subi

Décor subi
Andreas Hochuli

An artist known for his use of words in painting, Andreas Hochuli delivers a striking first book. Nominal phrases and a clipped style support a multifaceted exploration of the role objects play within our living environments. From plastic waste to canonical artworks, objects generate atmospheres, become “alive” through contact with their inhabitants—a conversation will be more animated on an uncomfortable chair than on a soft sofa—and are always charged with symbolic meaning. Interior design thus offers a narrative potential, one that serves to foster a fantasized image of the self. Drawing on personal experience (autobiography) as well as theory (architecture, sociology, psychoanalysis), and at times bordering on fiction, the author addresses a range of themes (the figure of the collector, the cinematic subgenre of the Old Dark House, gentrification) in short, carefully structured chapters. He also designs the book’s graphic layout, marked by his obsession with framing, and incorporates images gathered from real estate websites and lifestyle pages.

Andreas Hochuli (born in 1982 in Zurich, lives and works in Genoa) studied art history, philosophy, and literature at the University of Lausanne (2007). He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Visual Arts from ECAL, Lausanne (2011). A two-time recipient of the Swiss Art Awards (2014 for his painting, 2021 for the texto-musical project L’Acte pur), he is represented by Galerie Heinzer Reszler. His work has been exhibited at institutions including Kunsthalle Friart in Fribourg (2023), the Centre d’Art Contemporain Geneva (2017), and Kunsthaus Langenthal (with Charlotte Herzig, 2015). His work is held in the collections of the Swiss Confederation, Roche, Ricola, Julius Baer, the Fonds cantonal d’art contemporain de Genève, and FRAC Nouvelle-Aquitaine.