I asked Andriu Deplazes if he had always wished to be a painter. No, he said. For a time, he had trained to be a classical musician, but turned away from music because there was something repellent about the need to demonstrate virtuosity. To be a virtuoso, as the moral world depicted in these paintings clearly shows, is not the same as having virtue. And yet, at the same time, there are still traces of virtuosity in Deplazes’ practice: in the idealised landscapes that he renders, and in the easy depiction of animal life. It is only humans that he will not denigrate with such perfection. Their overpainted faces do not allow them to be captured as things, but rather present them as subjects. They elude categorisation because they are responding, in real time, to what they see in us. Adam Jasper

The work of Andriu Deplazes has been exhibited throughout Europe since 2015. Recent solo exhibitions have been presented at Kьnstlerhaus S11, Solothurn (2020), Bьndner Kunstmuseum, Chur (2020), Kunstverein Friedrichshafen (2018) and in the context of the Caravan series at Aargauer Kunsthaus, Aarau (2018). Major group exhibitions include: Perspectives: La Collection d'art Helvetia, Musйe Pully (2020); Werkschau, Haus Konstruktiv, Zurich; The Land of the Sun, Center for Contemporary Art Futura, Prague (2020); Fellowship Vordemberge- Gildewart, Alte Fabrik Rapperswil (2019), Plattform17, Kunsthaus Glarus (2017) and Hortus Botanicus, Helvetia Art Foyer, Basel.

Book Launch as Part of Zurich Art Weekend
From 6pm to 7pm, Saturday September 18th, 2021
Peter Kilchmann Gallery, Zahnradstrasse 21