Overview

Andriu Deplazes’s work merges fragments of personal experience with elements from contemporary life, inviting viewers to reflect on the human role within society and its complex relationship with nature. 

Deplazes was born in 1993 in Zurich, and currently lives and works in Marseille and Zurich. His approach, shaped by a philosophical and anthropological perspective, explores themes of identity and the dynamics of power within social and familial structures. Often set against idealized, romantically lush landscapes, Deplazes’s figures—isolated, diaphanous, and androgynous—inhabit scenes that oscillate between the idyllic and the unsettling. These ethereal subjects challenge conventions of voyeurism and narcissism, reflecting the artist’s contemplation on human vulnerability and the physicality of the body.


Deplazes’s work embodies a rejection of perfection, reserving his precise technique for depictions of nature and animal life, while his human figures resist such treatment. Through overpainting and abstraction, Deplazes captures humans as subjects rather than objects, allowing them to respond to viewers and resist any singular interpretation. His characters evoke both melancholy and ambiguity, suspended between presence and evanescence. The emotional landscapes, with their fleshy plants and sensual forms, evoke both the lushness of paradise and its fleeting, alienating aspects.


Color is central to Deplazes’s practice, used to express emotional tension. His palette is often vibrant and contrasting, with hues that underscore his figures' vulnerability and heighten the sense of psychological complexity in his work. Saturated greens, haunting blues, and flashes of fluorescent tones convey both allure and discomfort within his dreamlike environments, subtly shifting between beauty and unease. Deplazes draws inspiration from the styles of late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century painters—Ferdinand Hodler, Pierre Bonnard, Nancy Spero—while reinterpreting these influences in a uniquely contemporary way.


Deplazes’s artistic versatility extends across diverse media, including painting, monotypes, and works on paper, as well as recent explorations in bronze and ceramic sculpture. He also works on glass, adding a translucent dimension that heightens the dreamlike quality of his art.


Since 2015, Andriu Deplazes has exhibited widely throughout Europe. Recent solo exhibitions include Plaines en jachèreat Galerie Peter Kilchmann, Paris (2023), Burning Green at Collezione Maramotti, Reggio Emilia (2023), Künstlerhaus S11, Solothurn (2020), Bündner Kunstmuseum, Chur (2020), and Kunstverein Friedrichshafen (2018). His work has also been featured in major group exhibitions, including Apropos Hodler - Current Perspectives of an Icon at Kunsthaus Zürich (2024), Perspectives: La Collection d'art Helvetia, Musée Pully (2020); Werkschau, Haus Konstruktiv, Zurich (2020); and The Land of the Sun, Center for Contemporary Art Futura, Prague (2020).

Selected works
  • Andriu Deplazes, Vier Hände halten Kind (Four hands hold child), 2025
    Vier Hände halten Kind (Four hands hold child), 2025
  • Andriu Deplazes, Zwei Körper mit Helm vereint (Two bodies with helmet united), 2025
    Zwei Körper mit Helm vereint (Two bodies with helmet united), 2025
  • Andriu Deplazes, Körper im Schermen (Bodies in a shelter), 2025
    Körper im Schermen (Bodies in a shelter), 2025
  • Andriu Deplazes, Gipfelmännchen, Gipfelbuch (Summit cairns, summit book), 2025
    Gipfelmännchen, Gipfelbuch (Summit cairns, summit book), 2025
  • Andriu Deplazes, Boxer, 2025
    Boxer, 2025
  • Andriu Deplazes, Körper vor und hinter Vorhang (Bodies in front of and behind curtain), 2025
    Körper vor und hinter Vorhang (Bodies in front of and behind curtain), 2025
  • Andriu Deplazes, Hängender Vogel (Hanging bird), 2025
    Hängender Vogel (Hanging bird), 2025
  • Andriu Deplazes, Körper mit Spatzen (Body with sparrows), 2024
    Körper mit Spatzen (Body with sparrows), 2024
  • Andriu Deplazes, Verfliessend meditierend (Flowing meditating), 2024
    Verfliessend meditierend (Flowing meditating), 2024
  • Andriu Deplazes, Aufrechte Taube, 2024
    Aufrechte Taube, 2024
  • Andriu Deplazes, Les pleureuses de Bologne (Bologna mourners), 2024
    Les pleureuses de Bologne (Bologna mourners), 2024
  • Andriu Deplazes, Rote Tränen (Red tears), 2024
    Rote Tränen (Red tears), 2024
  • Andriu Deplazes, Hände an Backen (Hands on cheeks), 2024
    Hände an Backen (Hands on cheeks), 2024
  • Andriu Deplazes, Körper auf gelbem Stuhl (Body on yellow chair), 2023
    Körper auf gelbem Stuhl (Body on yellow chair), 2023
  • Andriu Deplazes, Körper sitzen am Tisch (Bodies sitting at table), 2023
    Körper sitzen am Tisch (Bodies sitting at table), 2023
  • Andriu Deplazes, Körper hält Säugling zwischen Kühen (Body holding baby between cows), 2023
    Körper hält Säugling zwischen Kühen (Body holding baby between cows), 2023
  • Andriu Deplazes, Tambourmajor mit Stab (Drum-major with stick), 2023
    Tambourmajor mit Stab (Drum-major with stick), 2023
  • Andriu Deplazes, Körper und offene Tür (Bodies and open door), 2023
    Körper und offene Tür (Bodies and open door), 2023
  • Andriu Deplazes, Holstein-Kühe in Dämmerung (Holstein cattle in dawn), 2023
    Holstein-Kühe in Dämmerung (Holstein cattle in dawn), 2023
  • Andriu Deplazes, Soldat avec bugle (Trumpeter soldier with Flugelhorn), 2023
    Soldat avec bugle (Trumpeter soldier with Flugelhorn), 2023
  • Andriu Deplazes, Gletscher verwässert (Glacier dilutes), 2023
    Gletscher verwässert (Glacier dilutes), 2023
  • Andriu Deplazes, Wie im Himmel, so auf dem Feld (As in the sky, so in the field), 2023
    Wie im Himmel, so auf dem Feld (As in the sky, so in the field), 2023
  • Andriu Deplazes, Regard tordu sur corps avec deux chiens (Distorted gaze on body with two dogs), 2023
    Regard tordu sur corps avec deux chiens (Distorted gaze on body with two dogs), 2023
  • Andriu Deplazes, Deux corps baignent bébé (Two bodies bathing baby), 2023
    Deux corps baignent bébé (Two bodies bathing baby), 2023
  • Andriu Deplazes, Huckepack (Porte sur son dos) (Huckepack (Carrying on its back)), 2023
    Huckepack (Porte sur son dos) (Huckepack (Carrying on its back)), 2023
  • Andriu Deplazes, Körper an Körper (Body against body), 2022
    Körper an Körper (Body against body), 2022
  • Andriu Deplazes, Rötliches Portrait in schwarz (Reddish portrait in black), 2022
    Rötliches Portrait in schwarz (Reddish portrait in black), 2022
  • Andriu Deplazes, Fünf Körper und gelb-rötliches Licht (Five bodies in red-yellow light), 2021
    Fünf Körper und gelb-rötliches Licht (Five bodies in red-yellow light), 2021
  • Andriu Deplazes, Licht kreuzt (Light crossing), 2021
    Licht kreuzt (Light crossing), 2021
  • Andriu Deplazes, Rote Arme bilden einen Kreis (Red arms forming a circle), 2021
    Rote Arme bilden einen Kreis (Red arms forming a circle), 2021
  • Andriu Deplazes, Körper, Stab und Kondensstreifen (Body, stick and condensation trail), 2020
    Körper, Stab und Kondensstreifen (Body, stick and condensation trail), 2020
  • Andriu Deplazes, Hirsch und weisse Weite (Deer and white vastness), 2020
    Hirsch und weisse Weite (Deer and white vastness), 2020
  • Andriu Deplazes, Zwei Körper, Barke, Leine und Hund (Two bodies, rowing boat, leash and dog), 2020
    Zwei Körper, Barke, Leine und Hund (Two bodies, rowing boat, leash and dog), 2020
  • Andriu Deplazes, Körper im Wasser, 2020
    Körper im Wasser, 2020
  • Andriu Deplazes, Sprinkler auf Feld, 2020
    Sprinkler auf Feld, 2020
  • Andriu Deplazes, Körper mit Gurt im Blau (Body with belt in blue), 2019
    Körper mit Gurt im Blau (Body with belt in blue), 2019
Selected exhibitions
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