Paulo Wirz: Dormitórios

Paulo Wirz uses symbolically charged objects and items in his work to examine the functional mechanisms of society. He is particularly interested in the rituals and myths that tell of how we deal with the incomprehensible in the world. For the exhibition, Paulo Wirz transforms the Kunsthalle Arbon into a labyrinthine, playful and dream-like terrain. Wirz's exhibition is located somewhere between sleep, wakefulness, dream, life, death and ritual and asks how we as individuals and societies comprehend the labyrinth of life when faced with the existential realities of death and the unknown and how we reconcile the sacred and profane in the midst of cultural and social instability. Biography Paulo Wirz Paulo Wirz (born 1990 in Pindamonhangaba, Brazil) is a Zurich-based artist who works with large-scale sculptures and site-specific installations. His works bridge the gap between past and present and question the social significance of symbolically charged objects. Like an alchemist, Paulo Wirz transforms the materials he uses and draws our attention to the ambiguity of their properties: he changes their state, for example through color, fire, wax or reflections, not only formally but also in their meaning. The works are thus always based on an inherent changeability that oscillates between the visible and the invisible, the past and the permanent. Paulo holds a BA in Photography from ZHdK and an MA in Fine Arts from HEAD - Genève. In 2019 he received the New Heads Prize and in 2021 the Swiss Art Award. In 2025 he is again nominated for the Swiss Art Awards. Between 2019 and 2022 he participated in various residency programs such as Fondazione Ratti (Como, Italy), ZQM (Berlin, Germany), Cité des Arts (Paris, France) and Pro Helvetia (Cairo, Egypt). In 2024, he was enrolled at the New Europe College in Bucharest as part of a residency scholarship from the Landis & Gyr Foundation. His work has been exhibited in institutions such as Kunsthalle Basel (Switzerland), FriArt (Switzerland), Centre d'Art Contemporain de Genève (Switzerland), Helmhaus (Switzerland), Archivio Conz (Germany), Wehrmühle (Germany), Haus Konstruktiv (Switzerland), Fondazione Ratti (Italy) and Cité des Arts (France). Source: thurgaukultur.ch - the cultural portal for Thurgau, with dates, topics & people to talk about.