Valentin Rilliet : Opening September 4, 2026, 6 pmGalerie Peter Kilchmann, Zahnradstrasse 21, Zurich
VALENTIN RILLIET
September 5 – October 17, 2026
Opening: Friday, September 4, 6–8 pm
Zahnradstrasse 21, 8005 Zurich (MAAG)
Galerie Peter Kilchmann is pleased to present the third solo exhibition by Swiss artist Valentin Rilliet (*1996, Geneva; lives and works in Zurich).
The exhibition brings together new paintings and works on paper that explore themes of life and death, transcendence, and spirituality. Ghostly figures, animated dolls, and fragmented bodies inhabit a world where the everyday merges with the supernatural. Building on the personal mythology developed in his previous exhibition, The Dream Synopsys (2025), Rilliet continues to expand his distinctive visual language through elements of magical realism.
Drawing on imagery that spans art history and popular theatrical traditions—from Ferdinand Hodler to the Commedia dell'arte—Rilliet creates layered, open-ended narratives. Faces are concealed by hands, hair, or masks, while scenes remain deliberately incomplete, inviting viewers to imagine what lies beyond the visible. Through omission, ambiguity, and movement, his paintings evoke a mysterious world where multiple stories unfold simultaneously.
