Future, current and past exhibitions curated by Olivier Varenne at MONA, in the Geneva gallery, in Gstaad at the Little Art Window and at fairs.
Current & Ongoing
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John Armleder: Soubresauts
Geneva 8 Nov 2024 - 23 Mar 2025 For John M. Armleder’s first commercial exhibition in Geneva in a decade, Olivier Varenne and Balthazar Lovay will present the artist’s work spread between their two galleries. The show focuses on rarely-seen-before works on paper and sculptures, spanning from the 1960s to today. All of the works are small-scale and... Read more -
The Little Art Window: JOHN ARMLEDER "EAGLE"
Gstaad 7 Nov 2024 - 30 Apr 2025 John Armleder EAGLE, 2024, mixed technique on canvas 150 x 275 x 4 cm Provenance: from the Artist’s Studio Eagle, a site-specific painting, made for The Little Art Window, pays tribute with its title to the artist’s father – one of the co-founders of The Eagle Club, the exclusive ski... Read more -
Namedropping
MONA 15 Jun 2024 - 21 Apr 2025 Are our choices shaped by culture, or is our culture shaped by nature's choices? David Walsh owns a cricket bat autographed by stars of the 1980s: Greg Chappell, Dennis Lillee, Viv Richards and Abdul Qadir to name a few (the bat got signed mostly at the 1983–84 Australian Tri-Series, where... Read more -
Monanism
MONA, Hobart (Co-curator Olivier Varenne) 1 Jan 2011 Highlights of the collection at MONA. Read more
Past
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Móyòsóré Martins: Through the Light
Geneva 11 Sep - 2 Nov 2024 OLIVIER VARENNE presents the first European show of paintings by Lagos-born, New York-based, Móyòsóré Martins, in the presence of the artist. “My artwork is intentionally raw... I layer the background and then deconstruct it, which gives the feeling of wear and tear on the canvas. No painting is alike as... Read more -
Rétroviseur: Autoportraits Surréalistes
Geneva 1 May - 20 Jul 2024 Rétroviseur: Autoportraits Surréalistes, co-curated with Jean-Hubert Martin. On the 100th anniversary of the publication of Breton’s Surrealist Manifesto, Olivier Varenne Art Moderne & Contemporain will explore what happened when Surrealists turned their eye on themselves. Self-portraits by Hans Bellmer, Salvador Dali, Marcel Duchamp, Francis Picabia, André Masson, Pierre Molinier and... Read more -
artgenève 2024 - YANNICK VU
Palexpo, booth D54 24 - 28 Jan 2024 Olivier Varenne is proud to present a group of paintings by Vietnamese-French artist, Yannick Vu (b.1942). Works from 1994-1995 will be shown; an exploratory journey on paper of ambiguous elementary forms from combs, to totems, and breast-like forms, in altered dimensions, as well as mysterious landscapes. Through them Vu contrasts... Read more -
Chiharu Shiota: Idomeneo
Grand Théâtre Genève + artgenève 2024 24 Jan - 2 Mar 2024 For his first opera production as director of the Ballet du Grand Théâtre de Genève, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui has teamed up with Chiharu Shiota for the set design of IDOMÉNÉE. Shiota and Cherkaoui have mustered the forces of the dancers, as well as the soloists, to realise a set where... Read more -
The Little Art Window: WIM DELVOYE "NAUTILUS"
Gstaad 21 Dec 2023 - 1 Oct 2024 OLIVIER VARENNE is delighted to present Nautilus, a sculpture from Belgian artist Wim Delvoye at The Little Art Window in Gstaad. Born in 1965 in Belgium, neo-conceptual artist Wim Delvoye appropriates and diverts art-historical styles and motifs to sublimate trivial yet rather unconventional objects. The Gothic period has held... Read more -
SPLENDID: An art exhibition
Geneva 30 Nov 2023 - 28 Jan 2024 This winter, we're very excited to announce our takeover of the cult underground cinema, Cinéma Splendid in Geneva, replacing the porno screenings of its infamous past with a contemporary show questioning sex, bodies and the human condition. Works from the following artists will be in on show. Please refer to... Read more -
Chiharu Shiota
Geneva 8 Nov 2023 - 30 Mar 2024 OLIVIER VARENNE is very proud to present a group of new 2 and 3 dimensional works by Chiharu Shiota . A group of new sculptures ( State of Being ), works on canvas ( Endless Line ) and works on paper (Connected to the Universe), all created in 2023. Olivier... Read more -
Paolo Colombo
Geneva 8 Nov 2023 - 30 Mar 2024 OLIVIER VARENNE is proud to present a group of recent works by Paolo Colombo in his Geneva gallery. On show will be a new series of watercolours as well as videos from Colombo’s Stone Theatre series. On show will be large word-based pieces, ‘visual poetry’, their painterly vocabulary consisting of... Read more -
Some perspectives on painting: Borgeaud - Frize - Varini
Geneva 13 Sep - 25 Oct 2023 Olivier Varenne Art Moderne & Contemporain presents Bernard Borgeaud in a group show with Bernard Frize, and Felice Varini – artists who both have also pushed visual and material boundaries in their careers. As summed up by Jean-Hubert Martin: “Single vanishing point perspective dominated painting from the Renaissance until the... Read more -
Jean-Luc Moulène and Teams
Mona, Hobart (Olivier Varenne - Commissioner of Jean-Luc Mouléne) 6 Sep 2023 - 1 Apr 2024 Curated by Michel Blancsubé with Trudi Brinckman, and commissioned by Olivier Varenne, Jean-Luc Moulène and Teams will examine the relationships between material, form and the creative process; between art and industry; between artwork and observer. Four new sculptural works have been created using wax, metal, Triassic sandstone and timber from... Read more -
Christo "Trees" and Richard Mosse "Broken Spectre"
Geneva 2 Mar - 31 Jul 2023 Following on from his participation at Artgenève 2023, OLIVIER VARENNE is proud to continue to present works by Christo and Richard Mosse in his two adjacent galleries. On show will be Trees by Christo, and photographs by Richard Mosse from his Broken Spectre project. The artists respond in their highly... Read more -
artgenève 2023
Palexpo, booth D55 25 - 29 Jan 2023 OLIVIER VARENNE is proud to present works by Christo , and by Richard Mosse at Artgenève 2023 which focus on their respective projects about the environment: trees for Christo ; environmental crises for Mosse . It will be the first exhibition solely of Christo’s Wrapped Trees , and the first... Read more -
The Little Art Window: CHIHARU SHIOTA "NARRATIVE"
Gstaad 22 Dec 2022 - 28 Feb 2023 OLIVIER VARENNE is delighted to present a new in-situ installation by Japanase artist Chiharu Shiota in Gstaad at The Little Art Window, 4 Alte Lauenenstrasse, 3780 Gstaad. The artist and her oeuvre 'Everyone is connected if you are part of society. People are connected to each other, but we... Read more -
Tomas Saraceno, Oceans of air
MONA, Hobart 17 Dec 2022 - 24 Jul 2023 Read more -
Gregory Masurovsky Drawings
Drawing from the Bronx-born, Paris-based, consummate draftsm 22 Nov 2022 - 25 Jan 2023 Olivier Varenne is proud to present a group of drawings by Bronx-born, Paris-based, consummate draftsman, Gregory Masurovsky (1929-2009). Drawing, for Gregory Masurovsky, was ‘to sculpt in light’. In his portrait drawings, as much as his still-lifes and nudes, the extensive variety and range in his black on white also recalls... Read more -
Swiss Artists
Armleder - Ben - Delachaux - Fleury - Signer - Tinguely 22 Nov 2022 - 25 Jan 2023 Olivier Varenne is proud to inaugurate his new gallery with a group show of important Swiss artists of the twentieth and twenty-first century. Whether inspired by chance and performance of the Fluxus movement, or intellectually drawn by the ‘collective singularity’ of Nouveau Réalisme, or preferring a liberation from ‘ movements... Read more -
The Little Art Window: FELICE VARINI
Gstaad 5 Jul - 1 Dec 2022 OLIVIER VARENNE is delighted to announce a new presentation in Gstaad at The Little Art Window, 4 Alte Lauenenstrasse, 3780 Gstaad. FELICE VARINI (B. 1952, LOCARNO, SWITZERLAND) Swiss-born Felice Varini lives and works in Paris. Over the past 40 years, he has created a body of work which can... Read more -
Art Genève 2022
3 - 6 Mar 2022 Read more -
The Little Art Window: CONRAD SHAWCROSS "PATTERNS OF ABSENCE"
Gstaad 27 Dec 2021 - 1 Jul 2022 The Patterns of Absence (PS15D4) is a new unique work created by Shawcross especially for the Little Art Window, Gstaad. Akin to a stained glass window, which is activated by the light of the Sun, the work continues the artists' ongoing investigations into optics, movement and light. The two slow... Read more -
James Capper, Prototypes of Speculative Engineering
MONA, Hobart (Curated by Jarrod Rowlins and Emma Pike. Commissioner Olivier Varenne) 17 Dec 2021 - 9 May 2022 Prototypes of Speculative Engineering , combines Capper’s interests in mechanical engineering, industrial design and evolutionary biology. Created with industrially coated steel and hydraulic systems, Capper’s sculptures— HYDRA STEP and HYDRA SHUFFLE II —evoke the evolutionary shift when life moved from water to land. These insect-and-digging-machine hybrids explore crossovers between biological... Read more -
The Little Art Window: CHRISTO "MASTABA"
Gstaad 15 Sep - 25 Dec 2021 CHRISTO, The Mastaba (Project for Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates) 2012 pencil, charcoal, pastel, wax crayon, enamel paint, hand-drawn map and technical data and tape; in two parts (38 x 244 cm. part 1, 106.6 x 244 cm. part 2) Coinciding with the unveiling of the Arc de Triomphe, Wrapped... Read more -
The Little Art Window: Roman Signer "VIER APFEL"
Gstaad 9 May - 1 Aug 2021 THE LITTLE ART WINDOW is a new and innovative vitrine nestled into an old chalet in the heart of Gstaad (Switzlerand) that will showcase a tri-annual programme of bespoke installations by leading contemporary artists. Address: 4 Altelauenenstrasse, just off the main promenade, around the corner from the Posthotel Rossli. ... Read more -
Tony Oursler, 6TH | DARK PATH
Dark MOFO Festival, Hobart (Curator Jarrod Rawlins, Commissioner of Tony Oursler - Olivier Varenne) 14 Jun - 23 Jul 2019 A site specific sound and light intervention in the Beaumaris Zoo by Tony Oursler. Read more -
Siloam
Mona, Hobart (Olivier Varenne - Commissioner of Alfredo Jaar and Oliver Beer) 8 Jun 2019 - 27 Dec 2022 Tunnel no one wanted that takes you somewhere you didn’t want to go. With works by Ai Weiwei, Alfredo Jaar, Oliver Beer, and Christopher Townend. Read more -
Fabien Giraud and Raphaël Siboni, THE UNMANNED: PART TWO (THE EVERTED CAPITAL AND THE FORM OF NOT)
MONA, Hobart (Curator Nicole Durling and Olivier Varenne) 4 Nov 2018 - 4 Feb 2019 Read more -
Toby Ziegler, Your shadow rising
Mona, Hobart (Curator Olivier Varenne with Pippa Mott) 4 Nov 2018 - 25 Mar 2019 'I have had a particular interest for Toby Ziegler’s work since 2004, when he was creating technologically generated worlds with urban scenes and landscapes. Toby is constantly pursuing his quest with paintings and I especially enjoy his back and forth with technology and how he interweaves computers and crafts. ... Read more -
ZERO
MONA, Hobart (curated by Mattijs Viser and Olivier Varenne) 9 Jun 2018 - 22 Apr 2019 'Zero is silence. Zero is the beginning. Zero is round. Zero spins. Zero is the moon.' - Heinz Mack, Otto Piene and Günther Uecker, Zero's founding trio. Read more -
A Journey to Freedom
Dark Mofo Festival, Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery (guest curator Barbara Polla, co-curated by Olivier Varenne) 8 Jun - 29 Jul 2018 JANET BIGGS
NICOLAS DAUBANES
MOUNIR FATMI
SHAUN GLADWELL
JOANA HADJITHOMAS AND KHALIL JOREIGE
ALI KAZMA
RACHEL LABASTIE
RICKY MAYNARD
ROBERT MONTGOMERY
JEAN-MICHEL PANCIN
JHAFIS QUINTERO
SAM WALLMAN Read more -
Pharos
MONA, Hobart (Olivier Varenne - Commissioner of Jean Tinguely, Nam June Paik, Richard Wilson, Charles Ross) 26 Dec 2017 - 28 Dec 2022 New building designed by Nonda Katsalidis hosting works by James Turrell, Charles Ross, Jean Tinguely, Nam June Paik, Richard Wilson and Randy Polumbo. Read more -
LINDSAY SEERS, SUFFERING
Mona, Hobart (Curator Olivier Varenne) 10 Jun 2017 - 30 Apr 2018 A new immersive video installation of Lindsay Seers. Read more -
DARK MOFO - Hermann Nitsch, 150. Action
MONA, Hobart (Curated by Olivier Varenne, Michel Blancsubè and Jarrod Rawlins) 8 - 21 Jun 2017 Read more -
The Museum of Everything
Mona, Hobart (invited by Olivier Varenne, curated by James Brett) 1 Jun 2017 - 2 Apr 2018 Read more -
VII Biennale Herning, Socle du monde, To Challenge The Earth, The Moon & The Stars.
Herning (Co-curator Olivier Varenne with Mattijs Visser, Maria Finders, Jean-Hubert Martin and Holger Reenberg) 22 Apr - 27 Aug 2017 Read more -
On the Origin of Art
Mona, Hobart (curated by Brian Boyd, Mark Changizi, Geoffrey Miller and Steven Pinker), (co-curated by David Walsh and Mona team) 5 Nov 2016 - 17 Apr 2017 Read more -
United Visual Artist (UVA), Our Time
Dark MOFO Festival, Hobart (Curator Oliver Varenne) 10 Jun - 21 Jul 2016 Read more -
Grupo EmpreZa, BodyStorm
Dark MOFO Festival, Hobart (Curator Olivier Varenne) 10 - 21 Jun 2016 Read more -
Ryoji Ikeda, Supersymetry
Dark MOFO Festival, Hobart (Curator Olivier Varenne) 10 - 21 Jun 2016 Read more -
Cameron Robbins, Field Lines
MONA, Hobart (Co-curator Olivier Varenne) 18 May - 29 Aug 2016 First Retrospective Exhibition. Read more -
Gilbert & George, An Art Exhibition
MONA, Hobart (Co-curator Olivier Varenne) 28 Nov 2015 - 28 Mar 2016 First Retrospective Exhibition in Australia. Read more -
Mathieu Briand, Et In Libertalia Ego
MONA, Hobart (Curator Olivier Varenne, co-producer Olivier Varenne with Maison Rouge Paris) 2 Sep 2015 - 11 Jul 2016 Read more -
Marina Abramović, Private Archeology
MONA, Hobart (Co-curator Olivier Varenne) 13 Jun - 5 Oct 2015 First major exhibition of Marina Abramović in Australia. Read more -
Anthony McCall, Night Ship
Dark MOFO Festival, Hobart (Co-curator Olivier Varenne) 12 - 22 Jun 2015 Read more -
Céleste Boursier-Mougenot, Rêvolutions
French Pavilion at the 56th Venice Biennale/MONA (Exceptional Sponsor, Co-curator Olivier Varenne) 6 May - 11 Nov 2015 The Project 'Rêvolutions' proposed by Céleste Boursier-Mougenot and Emma Lavigne was chosen to represent France at the Biennale of Venice in 2015. Read more -
Biennale de l´Image en Mouvement (BIM)
MONA, Hobart / Centre d´Art Contemporain, Geneva (Co-Curator/Sponsor Olivier Varenne) 17 Jan - 6 Jul 2015 Biennale of emerging video artists. Read more -
Collectionair
Co-founder Valerie Konde and Olivier Varenne 1 Jan 2015 - 1 Dec 2018 Internet platform with online exhibitions. Read more -
Matthew Barney, River of Fundament
MONA, Hobart (Co-curator Olivier Varenne with Nicole Durling / co-produced with Haus der Kunst Munich - curated by Okwui Enwezor) 22 Nov 2014 - 13 Apr 2015 Major exhibition following Munich's Haus der Kunst. It marks the culmination of almost 6 years of work. Barney will also be incorporating MONA's Egyptian antiquity Collection. Read more -
Ryoji Ikeda - Spectra London
Victoria Tower Gardens (Co-commissioner Olivier Varenne) 4 - 11 Aug 2014 Presented by Artangel for the commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the First World War. Produced by MONA and Sharjah Foundation. Read more -
Christoph Büchel, Land of David - Poynduk: The Promised Mall
MONA, Hobart (Co-curator Olivier Varenne with Nicole Durling and Jarrod Rawlins) 17 Jun - 6 Oct 2014 Christoph Büchel’s Mona project has given the museum the veneer of a shopping centre. Behind this veneer are layers exploring 'the strange, corrupt world of 20th-century utopias'. Read more -
Vito Acconci
Dark Mofo Festival, Hobart (Curator Olivier Varenne) 1 Jun - 1 Oct 2014 Project for a public bridge in Hobart. Read more -
Conrad Shawcross - ADA Project
MONA FOMA festival, Hobart (Co-curator Olivier Varenne) 15 - 19 Jan 2014 An industrial robot transformed into a choreographed light sculpture informs a series of musical commissions inspired by Ada Lovelace. Read more -
Roger Ballen, Asylum Series - Photographs, drawings, installation
MONA, Hobart (Curator Olivier Varenne) 7 Dec 2013 - 28 Jul 2014 New photographs from the Asylum series. Read more -
Hubert Duprat
MONA, Hobart (Curator Olivier Varenne) 7 Dec 2013 - 28 Jul 2014 A retrospective of the work of French artist Hubert Duprat. Read more -
I Look to You and I See Nothing
Sharjah Art Foundation, UAE (Concept: Olivier Varenne; Co-curator Olivier Varenne with Nicole Durling) 15 - 23 Nov 2013 An exhibition about mental sculptures created by the imagination and phenomena. Read more -
Théâtre du Monde
La Maison Rouge, Paris (Assistant curator Olivier Varenne to Jean-Hubert Martin) 18 Oct 2013 - 12 Jan 2014 Théâtre du Monde contains an array of objects reflecting some 4,000 years of human creativity, creating a dialogue between works across different cultures, art styles and times. Read more -
The Red Queen
MONA, Hobart (Co-curator Olivier Varenne) 18 Jun 2013 - 8 Sep 2014 An exhibition that continues MONA’s inquiry into the messy machinery of human nature by asking the rather big question: why do humans make art? Read more -
Beam in Thine Own Eye
MAC1, Hobart (Concept: Olivier Varenne; co-curator with Nicole Durling) 14 Jun - 28 Jul 2013 An exhibition about visual perception, and how individuals encounter objects and phenomena in space and subsequently create their own particular reality. Read more -
Yannick Demmerle
MONA Library, Hobart (Curator Olivier Varenne) 19 Sep 2012 - 11 Mar 2013 New drawings by French artist Yannick Demmerle. Read more -
Lindsay Seers, Nowhere Less Now
MONA, Hobart (Co-producer Olivier Varenne with Artangel) 8 Sep - 21 Oct 2012 A new immersive video installation. Read more -
Theatre of the World
MONA, Hobart (Assistant Curator Olivier Varenne to Jean - Hubert Martin) 23 Jun 2012 - 8 Apr 2013 Theatre of the World contains an array of objects reflecting some 4,000 years of human creativity, creating a dialogue between works across different cultures, art styles and times. Read more -
Ryoji Ikeda, Concert Datamatics Susan Philipsz, The Two Sisters
MONA FOMA festival, Hobart (Co-Curator Olivier Varenne) 14 Jan - 22 Oct 2012 Read more -
Wim Delvoye
MONA, Hobart (Curator Olivier Varenne) 10 Dec 2011 - 9 Apr 2012 A retrospective of work by the Belgian artist. Read more -
Palais de Tokyo
Palais de Tokyo, Paris (Olivier Varenne Membre du Comité d´Orientation) 1 Sep 2011 - 1 Sep 2014 Member of the committee of orientation. Read more -
Chiharu Shiota, In Silence
Detached, Hobart (Curator Olivier Varenne) 14 Jan - 3 Apr 2011 New works by the Japanese artist including an installation, drawing and video. Read more -
on&on
Casa Encendida Museum, Madrid (Co-curator Olivier Varenne with Flora Fairbairn) 18 Nov 2010 - 16 Jan 2011 An exhibition about ephemeral art, with works that change daily. Read more -
Ana Prvacki, Ananatural
MONA FOMA festival, Hobart (Curator Olivier Varenne) 13 - 23 Jan 2010 A catalogue of performances. Read more -
Christian Boltanski, The Heart Archive
MONA FOMA festival, Hobart (Co-curator Olivier Varenne) 13 - 23 Jan 2010 Read more -
3rd Moscow Biennale of Contemporary
Garage CCC (Assistant curator Olivier Varenne to Jean-Hubert Martin) 25 Sep - 25 Oct 2009 An exhibition which includes 80 contemporary international and Russian artists including several new productions. Read more -
Celeste Boursier Mougenot, From Here to Ear
MONA FOMA festival, Hobart, (Co-curator Olivier Varenne) 9 - 12 Jan 2009 An installation of 5 electric guitars & amplifiers with real birds creating a live performance. Read more -
Rob Dowling, Stellasphere
2C Andrews Road, London (Curator Olivier Varenne) 22 Jun - 3 Jul 2005 An installation of 13 x 14 x 2 m in Olivier's living room in London, inside which visitors could walk and see three different newly-commissioned videos where Dowling attempted to transform himself into a Frank Stella painting. Read more
