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Mathias Kiss

Mathias Kiss is a French multidisciplinary artist of Hungarian origin, born in Poissy in 1972. The freedom he claims is his driving force: to think outside the frame is to create poetic, authentic works that fit into the everyday environment of collectors as much as they disrupt it.

This need to break free from codes is something that Mathias expressed since childhood. His resistance to authority led him early on to take up a path into the crafts, trained as a painter and carpenter before joining the Compagnons du Devoir in 1991. It was during restoration work on historic buildings that he learned the traditional techniques of the decorative arts. Access to these skills is as fascinating as it is upsetting and led to an irrepressible desire to create.

Mathias Kiss doesn’t limit himself to any medium, working wood, marble and mirror, or any practice as painting, gilding, sculpting, and designing. He distorts and appropriates objects and styles, playing with references and viewers’ perceptions to create artworks with a quirky identity.

His guest room, presented at the 2023 edition of Private Choice, is yet another example of his singular approach. The blanket, entitled Out of Bed, seems to embrace the floor and merge with the pebbles and cactus around the bed frame. Its mineral print is a direct reference to the Portor marble that adorns the facades of one of the leading jewelry houses on Place Vendome. The artist had many opportunities to observe this place during her sketching sessions with the Comrades. Recognizable by its links, the noble stone contrasts with the feather quilting and flexible fabric. This hybrid desert cocoon offers a unique ambiance, Mathias’ thoughts are spreading through the bedroom.

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Biography

Mathias Kiss is a French multidisciplinary artist of Hungarian origin, born in 1972 in Poissy.

EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND

  • 1987 Arrêt de l’école en 4e, est orienté dans un apprentissage de peintre en bâtiment
  • 1989 Obtention du CAP après trois années de chantier chez des artisans en banlieue
  • 1990 Travaille comme peintre en bâtiment
  • 1991 Rentre comme peintre dans la restauration de Monuments Historiques et se forme sur le tas dans cette structure se spécialisant en peinture décorative
  • 2000 Quitte cette structure et expérimente sur ses chantiers de peinture en recherchant le sens de ce travail, les différences sociales évidentes entre l’ouvrier qu’il est et l’artiste qui s’exprime, ambivalence qui interdit à l’ouvrier de pouvoir….

EXPOSITIONS – SELECTION 

  • 2023 / Light my fire, galerie Ketabi Bourdet, Paris, FR
  • 2023 / Objets sensuels, Le Meurice, Paris, FR
  • 2022 / Paristoutpetits, Christie’s, 9 Avenue Matignon, Paris, FR
  • 2022 / Besoin d’Air, Gallery Elle, Zurich, CH
  • 2021 / Circularité, Galerie Bertrand Grimont, Paris, FR
  • 2021 / Vase, Galerie Alain Gutharc, Paris, FR
  • 2021 / Clouds, Gallery Elle, St. Moritz, CH
  • 2021 / Celebrations, Gallery Elle, St. Moritz, CH
  • 2021 / Flags for future, Istanbul, TR
  • 2020 / Hortus Conclusus. L’illusion d’un paradis, Museo villa dei cedri di Bellinzona, Bellinzona, CH
  • 2020 / Playground – Le design des sneakers , Musée des Arts Décoratifs et du Design, Bordeaux, FR
  • 2020 / Manifest «Mathias Kiss by Alexandre Guirkinger», 0fr, Paris, FR
  • 2019 / Besoin d’Air?, Palais des Beaux Arts de Lille, FR
  • 2019  /Sneaker Collab, Musée cantonal de design et d’arts appliqués contemporains, Lausanne, CH
  • 2019 / Carte Blanche, Mobilier National, La Chapelle des Gobelins, Paris, FR 
  • 2019 / Caressez-Moi Fort, Galerie Eva Hober, Paris, FR
  • 2019 / L’art et la matière, Galerie Mouvements Modernes, Paris, FR
  • 2018 / Heritages, Centre d’art contemporain départemental de l’ar[T]senal, Dreux, FR
  • 2018 / New Lights, Galerie Léage, Paris, FR
  • 2017 / Out of Time , Maison d’Auguste Comte, Paris, FR
  • 2017 / Free the Decor , Domaine Boisbuchet, Lessac, FR
  • 2017 / SUR/FACE , Angewandtekunst Museum Frankfurt, DE
  • 2017 / Miroir-Miroir , Musée cantonal de design et d’arts appliqués contemporains, Lausanne, CH
  • 2016 / Double Je , Palais de Tokyo, Paris, FR
  • 2016 / L’empreinte du Geste , Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, FR
  • 2016 / In Situ , Galerie Alain Gutharc, Paris, FR
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