Monster ChetwyndThe trompe l'oeil cleavage

I am impatient when it comes to doing things, and I always take everything around me, even if it doesn’t belong to me – I use it.

The English artist Monster Chetwynd (born in 1973 in London) has gained international renown for her carnivalesque performances, which recall the mystery plays and carnivals of the Middle Ages and draw on themes from art history and pop culture, although she also made a name for herself in the 2000s under the names Spartacus and Marvin Gaye Chetwynd. In 2012, she was the first performance artist to be nominated for the prestigious Turner Prize and continues to occupy one of the most important positions in the field of contemporary performance with her work. However, Chetwynd’s artistic work goes far beyond this: she works with painting and sculpture, with installations and films. Her artistic practice is characterised by the appeal and combination of very diverse cultural sources. She creates something new, combines humour with curiosity and seeks out collaborations – these are the most striking features of her work.

The exhibition at the Kunsthaus Zurich presents Monster Chetwynd’s complete oeuvre in Switzerland for the first time. More than 60 works from the last 25 years are part of an immersive exhibition architecture. The exhibition catalogue ‘The Trompe-l’œil Cleavage’ showcases the diversity of her work in an aesthetic approach coordinated with the artist.