sève
Tobias Gutmann
Information
For Tobias Gutmann, drawing is a way of thinking. Line by line, movement, breath and presence form a vocabulary shaped through encounters with thousands of people and years of sustained practice. In La Chaux-de-Fonds, this practice meets a language already written into the city: Style Sapin, the ornament of cones, branches and plants born here in the early 20th century. Gutmann lets these forms grow anew by hand, a living response rather than a citation. Sève, the sap that carries life through roots, branches and blossoms alike, gives the series its name and pulse. Along Boulevard Léopold-Robert, a series of flags unfolds, accompanying those who pass: forms that feel both familiar and new, each shaped by a single, unrepeatable gesture.
Focus on: artist
Drawing is Tobias Gutmann’s language, the way he thinks, processes and makes sense of the world. Born 1987 in Wewak, Papua New Guinea, based in Zurich, he channels this into large-scale ink works and into Face-o-mat, a participatory project through which he has portrayed thousands of people since 2013. Alongside this, Sai Bot, an AI drawing twin since 2019, is an ongoing experiment questioning his drawing practice in the age of artificial intelligence. Shown internationally, including Ithra Museum, Dhahran, and Art Central, Hong Kong.
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Tobias Gutmann
