The Life and Training of Vittorio Brodmann

Born in 1987 in Ettingen, Switzerland, Vittorio Brodmann began his formal path into the arts during a formative period in the late 2000s. His academic training took him through two significant institutions in Switzerland. Between 2007 and 2008, he spent time studying at the Zurich University of the Arts, a period that helped shape his early understanding of visual language. He continued his education in Geneva, eventually earning a BFA from the Geneva University of Art and Design in 2011.

After completing his studies, the Swiss artist moved toward the creative energy of larger urban centers. Vittorio Brodmann currently lives and works in Berlin, where his practice continues to develop. His background in formal design and fine arts provides the foundation for the narrative and figurative explorations found in his later output.

Artistic Technique and Visual Style

Brodmann’s paintings inhabit a strange, intermediate world where the boundaries between the human and the animal often blur. His figures move through fantastic landscapes, appearing as animated, surrealistic shapes that seem to mutate as they cross the canvas. This narrative approach draws heavily from the aesthetics of early Nickelodeon or Cartoon Network animations, using a cartoonish style to explore the clutter of contemporary culture. He finds themes in the spectacle of reality television, mass media, and the lives of celebrities, translating these modern obsessions into a visual language that feels both playful and unsettling.

There is a specific tension in how he builds his compositions. He balances a deliberate sense of structure with the sudden, messy energy of coincidence. His work carries echoes of surreal automatism, where shapes seem to emerge through a sense of spontaneous movement. This is paired with an intense color palette that feels heavy and deliberate. He often draws from the imagery of traditional Japanese Yokai prints, populating his scenes with phantom-like entities that lack a fixed, singular shape. The result is a body of work that sits somewhere between a slapstick comedy and a serious, earnest observation of how we move through the world.

Key Works and Notable Paintings

Brodmann’s early output often focused on smaller scales, where he could experiment with the way figures mutate and interact. In 2013, he produced Drowning on Dry Land, a work that captures a sense of muddy, grounded movement. Around this same time, he created Crush with eyeliner, a piece that reflects the playful, cartoonish energy found in much of his early practice. By 2015, his work had moved into different territories with As Old as Time, an oil on canvas that continues his exploration of strange, animated forms.

As his practice evolved, Brodmann began to move away from the small easel-sized canvases of his youth toward more substantial formats. This shift is evident in Extending the Frontiers, painted in 2016, which shows a continued interest in the tension between the figurative and the abstract. His later works often utilize a mix of media to build complex, layered scenes. For instance, Scattershot is a large-scale work, measuring 160 × 120 cm, executed in both acrylic and oil on canvas.

Other notable pieces from his collection include several oil paintings that maintain a consistent sense of scale and presence. These works often feel like snapshots of a much larger, unseen narrative:

• Loop (2019)
• Busy with Lemons (2019)

Exhibitions and Gallery Presence

Vittorio Brodmann has established a steady presence through various solo and group exhibitions across Europe and North America. His work has been featured in several solo shows, including a presentation at Belvedere 21 in Vienna from November 20, 2013, to January 06, 2014. Later, he held a solo exhibition at Gregor Staiger in Zurich between September 12, 2020, and October 31, 2020. His recent activity includes a show at Kunstraum Schwaz from October 15, 2022, to December 10, 2022.

His reach extends beyond individual gallery shows into significant institutional settings. He was part of the Biennial Kunsthalle Zürich, which ran from October 07, 2023, to January 21, 2024. This participation highlights his involvement in large-scale, curated contemporary art events. His work has also been seen in different international contexts, such as his exhibition at Freedman Fitzpatrick in Los Angeles from March 04, 2018, to April 21, 2018. Additionally, he exhibited at Gavin Brown’s Entreprise at Sant’Andrea de Scaphis in Rome from February 08, 2019, to March 16, 2019.