About

Clarina Bezzola was born Switzerland and lives and works in New York. Clarina is a performance artist, sculptor, painter and trained classical singer.

 

My work investigates human consciousness. With the arise of consciousness and the identification of the self humans began to feel isolated – hence, fear and feelings of vulnerability arise. Each of us has his or her own individual way of dealing with the discomforts that result from feeling isolated and alone in the world. Some of us shield themselves with physical armors or walls while others wear masks or uniforms to deceive. Through the mediums of performance, sculpture / installation, painting and drawing and sometimes photography I investigate the struggle of the individual trying to find its place in society. 

BIOgraphy

 

EDUCATION

1995 BFA, Parsons School of Design, New York









SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2022

  • Wer Ich Sein, Large scale all summer long project in the name of the Sonder Institute with Installations, Performances, Workshops, Lectures and gallery exhibition, Aeugst am Albis, Switzerland

2016

  • Pool Art Fair, Installation with performance in special Guest of honor, Martinique

2014

  • Dada Bomb, Installation with performance in collaboration with Miles Pittman, White Box Gallery, New York, USA

2012

  • Fressen und Gefressen werden, Katz Contemporary, Zurich, Switzerland

  • Tersyüz // Inside-Out, Galeri Zilberman, Istanbul, Turkey

2011

  • Pool Art Fair, Special Guest of honor: Gershwin Hotel, New York, USA

2010

  • Residency Exhibition, Galerie Krinzinger with One World Foundation, Ahungalla, Sri Lanka

  • Structure, Stamp Gallery, University of Maryland, College Park, MD USA

2009

  • Two Worlds, Galerie Adler, Frankfurt am Main, Germany

2008

  • Inside-Out, Kunsthalle Wien-Project Space am Karlsplatz, Vienna, Austria

  • Lärm im Kopf, Galerie Antje Wachs, Berlin, Germany

  • Inside-Out, Kulturstiftung Schloss Agathenburg, Agathenburg, Germany

  • Zone 1–Vienna Art Fair, Galeries Krinzinger & Antje Wachs, Vienna, Austria

  • Swiss Miss: a Gathering, Galerie Nicola von Senger, Zurich, Switzerland

2007

  • Der glückliche Tod im Leben und die Geburt ins Jetzt, Krinzinger Projekte, Vienna, Austria

  • Inside-Out, Lokaal 01, Antwerp, Belgium

2005

  • Inside-Out, Galerie Antje Wachs, Berlin, Germany

2003

  • Gathering, Cynthia Broan Gallery, New York, USA

  • Structure (2 shows), Jeffrey, New York and Jeffrey Atlanta, USA

2002

  • Skin and Structure, Gallery International, Baltimore, MD, USA

  • Fluid, The Drawing Center, New York, USA

2001

  • Structure, Cynthia Broan Gallery, New York, USA

  • Wearable Sculptures, Art Resources Transfer, New York, USA

2000

  • Skin, Cynthia Broan Gallery, New York, USA

 

PERFORMANCES

2023

  • Jazz in Gowanus, Salon in collaboration with the Olivier and Jean Baptiste Franc.

  • The Lady with a Thousand Faces at the Academy Mansion, NYC as a opening performance of FEMME F(R)ICTION, C1760 gallery and CS Art Partners

2022

  • Wer Ich Sein, Performances of The Singing Blemmye, Gloria and Elsa through the Sonder Institute in Aeugst am Albis, Switzerland

  • The Rose of Jericho during Everyday Magic Artistic/Gnostic Impulses, The National Arts Club, New York

  • Song Performance, Wedding in Umbria, Italy

2021

  • Gowanus Salon, Music Soirée in collaboration with Christopher Wilson and Amanda Zory.

  • Song Performance, Wedding in Naples, Italy

2019

  • An Evening at the Soapbox Gallery, Music Soirée with performance of the Lady with a Thousand Faces, lecture and concert in collaboration with Christopher Wilson. Soapbox Gallery, Brooklyn

2018

  • Picking in the Parlor, Music Soirée in collaboration with Christopher Wilson, Amanda Zory, Miles Pittman and Keith Zariello.

2017

  • Why do we hide? Performance and lecture series. Swiss Residence of the Ambassador – Beirut, Ethnographic Museum of the University of Balamand, Koura Campus, and Beirut Arab  University, Lebanon

  • Gowanus Salon, Music Soirée in collaboration with Christopher Wilson

  • Song Performance, Wedding in Lubljana, Slovenia

2016

  • The Lady with a Thousand Faces at Totem and Taboo in Collaboration with Daniel Horowitz, Tillou Fine Arts, Brooklyn, NY, USA,

2015

  • Shaddow: Grand Central Station, New York January 2015

  • The Lady of a Thousand Faces: Picking in the Parlor IV, Park Slope- Brooklyn, New York January 2015

2014

  • Lady Screenface Performance at the Dadabomb party, a part of the Zurich meets New York Dada festival, organized by the Consulate of Switzerland in New York.

  • Gowanus Salon, Music Soirée in collaboration with Christopher Wilson and Amanda Zory

2013

  • The Lady of a Thousand Faces Residence of the Swiss Ambassador of New York François Barras

2012

  • The Lady of a Thousand Faces (2 performances) Fressen und gefressen werden, Katz Contemporary, Zurich, Switzerland

  • When I walk Alone, Fressen und gefressen werden, organized by Katz Contemporary, Zurich, Switzerland

  • The Lady of a Thousand Faces, Special Event at the ART-Basel-UBS-VIP Lounge, Basel, Switzerland

  • When I walk Alone, Beauty Contest, MUSA (Museum of the City of Vienna), Vienna, Austria

2011

  • Inside-Out, UBS Fall Art Forum, UBS Conference Wolfsberg Ermatingen, Switzerland

  • Inside-Out, UBS Fall Art Forum, UBS Conference Center Seepark Thun, Switzerland

  • When I walk alone, Performance in the streets of New York, Beauty Contest, organized by the Austrian Cultural Forum, New York, USA

  • Lamentation, Pool Art Fair, Gershwin Hotel, New York, USA

2010

  • Der glückliche Tod im Leben und die Geburt ins Jetzt, Playing the City, Schirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt, Germany

  • Lamentation, Structure, Stamp Gallery, University of Maryland, College Park, MD USA

2008

  • Inside-Out, Kunsthalle Wien – Project Space am Karlsplatz, Vienna, Austria

  • Inside-Out, Kulturstiftung Schloss Agathenburg , Agathenburg, Germany

  • Swiss Miss: a Gathering (2 performances), Galerie Nicola von Senger, Zurich, Switzerland

2007

  • Lamentation, Sanctuary, Rupert Ravens Contemporary, Newark, NJ, USA

  • Solo Vocal Recital with Zürich Chamber Orchestra, Celebration: Robert Karrer, Sihl City, Zürich, Switzerland

  • Der Glückliche Tod im Leben und die Geburt ins Jetzt, Krinzinger Projekte, Vienna, Austria

  • Lamentation, Looptopia, Chicago Cultural Institute, Chicago, Il, USA

  • Inside-Out, Lokaal 01, Antwerp, Belgium

2006

  • Inside-Out, Kunstraum Syltquelle, Sylt, Germany

  • Rigoletto, Opera by Verdi (Clarina as Gilda), Espresso Opera, New York, USA

  • Lamentation, Transmodern Age Performance Festival, Baltimore, MD, USA

2005

  • Inside-Out, Galerie Antje Wachs, Berlin, Germany

  • Lamentation, Limbs Heart Tongue and Teeth, Dalton Gallery, Atlanta, GA, USA

  • Lamentation, Dress Makes a Woman, The Delaware Center for Contemporary Arts, Wilmington, DE, USA

2003

  • Gathering (2 performances), Cynthia Broan Gallery, New York, USA

2002

  • Lamentation, during my show Fluid, The Drawing Center, New York, USA

2001

  • Lamentation (2 performances), Cynthia Broan Gallery, New York, USA

1998

  • Study Chamber, Art Resources Transfer, The Armory Art Fair at the Gramercy Park Hotel, New York, USA







 
 

 








SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2023

  • FEMME F(R)ICTION, Group Exhibition organized by C1760 Gallery and CS Art Partners at the Academy Mansion, New York

2022

  • RAGE, Featured in the online MUSEUM OF EMOTION, Sept. 2022

  • Everyday Magic: Artistic/Gnostic Impulses, The National Arts Club, New York

2022

  • Edition Heads, Fabbrica Culturale Baviera, Giornico, Switzerland

2018

  • Jam Session, NeueHouse, New York

2015

  • Under the Skin, Textiel Museum, Tilburg, Netherlands

  • Dead West, Place and Identity, Lakeside, TX

2012

  • AIR Sri Lanka, Krinzinger Projekte, Ahungalla, Sri Lanka

  • Beauty Contest, MUSA (Museum of the City of Vienna), Vienna, Austria

2011

  • Beauty Contest, Austrian Cultural Forum, New York, USA

  • We the Artists, Trinidad National Museum of Art, Port of Spain, Trinidad

2010

  • Playing the City, Schirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt, Germany

  • Evidence, Curated by Robert Attanasio, Jim Kempner Fine Art, New York, USA

2009

  • Jahresausstellung der Bünder KünstlerInnen, Bündner Kunstmuseum, Chur, Switzerland

  • Performance II, Übertragung und Übersetzung, Photogalerie Wien, Vienna, Austria

2008

  • Who Are You? Faceless Tableaux Vivants, Galerie Adler, New York, USA

2007

  • Sanctuary, Rupert Ravens Contemporary, Newark, NJ, USA

  • The Moss Gathering Tumbleweed Experience, NICC, Antwerp, Belgium and Lokaal 01, Breda, Netherlands

  • Le pais où on n’arrive jamais, Galerie Antje Wachs, Berlin, Germany

2006

  • Innenwelten, Kunstraum Syltquelle, Sylt, Germany

2005

  • Limbs Heart Tongue and Teeth, Dalton Gallery, Agnes Scott College, Atlanta, GA, USA

  • Dress Makes a Woman, The Delaware Center for Contemporary Arts, Wilmington, DE, USA

2004

  • Art Project in the Public Realm / Part II Grenzfall Schweiz, The old port of Hamburg, Germany

  • Brave New World, McClain Gallery, Houston, TX, USA

  • Fresh: Works on Paper, James Kelly Contemporary, Santa Fé, NM, USA

2003

  • Wear Structure, Heaven Gallery, Chicago, IL, USA

2002

  • 15 Years Heads Projects, Galerie Baviera, Zurich, Switzerland

  • Art Here and Now, sixteen showcases in the streets, Galerie Baviera, Zurich, Switzerland

  • Spring Forward, Channel Store, curated by Downtown Arts Project, New York, USA

2000

  • Preview Exhibition for 2000-2001, PS 122, New York, USA

1999

  • Edition Heads, EXPO Gallery, Biel, Switzerland

  • Package, PS 122, New York, USA

  • Peek, White Box, New York, USA

  • Collective Jam, Night Owls, New York, USA

1998

  • Small Works International, Amos Eno Gallery, New York, USA

  • The Tip of the Iceberg, Dorfman Projects, New York, USA

 

Residencies

2002

  • Arts and Industry: January -March 2002: Three month Artist residency at the Kohler factory creating ceramic work for two shows, Fluid which was shown at the Drawing Center and Swiss Miss-a Gathering

2007

  • Krinzinger Projekte Residency: Summer 2007: Two month Artist residency at in Vienna Austria creating a large scale installation entirely sourced from donations by the people she met on the streets of Vienna, a city where she knew nobody. Out of the collection the piece Happy Death was born.

 

FILMS and documentations

2022

  • Chat with the Ambassador: Interview with the Swiss Ambassador Markus Börlin in connection to the Emna Rumanscha about my grandfather Reto Bezzola and my life and work in New York.

  • FIFTY ONE (SELF) PORTRAITS: Limited Edition book project by Thilo Hoffmann of collaborations with 51 artists. Only 100 copies of these hand printed and leather bound art books were produced.

2018

  • May I come in: Retrospective Book project by Wendy Goodman about her visits to Artist’s Houses. Published by Abrams.

2017

• I wanted my House to be a Sculpture: doc. by The Atlantic, by Emily Buder

2015

  • Wir Schweizerinnen in New York, Documentary about three Swiss women who have come to live in the Big Apple from Switzerland, directed by Karin Bauer, produced by the Swiss Radio and Television corporation

2014

iLady and Dadabomb, documentation of Dadabomb Festival New York - Zurich

2013

  • Swiss Romansh interview with Clarina Bezzola Swiss Radio and Television corporation

2012

  • Inside-Out, Tersyüz // Metropol Art Channel documentation of exhibit at Galeri Zilberman, Istanbul, Turkey

  • Inside-Out - Gallery Zilberman, EkavArt TV, documentation of exhibit at Galeri Zilberman, Istanbul, Turkey

  • Lady with a Thousand Faces, documentation of performance

  • A conversation among Sisters: documentation of interviews Katz Contemporary

2011

  • When I walk alone, documentation of performance from Times Square, New York for the Austrian Cultural Forum New York collaboration with Thomas Wirthensohn

2010

  • Playing the City, video Documentation of art in the Public realm. Organized by Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt

  • Playground 6 Documentation of lecture series organized by Andrei Severny

2008

  • Judgement Day, video art work created in collaboration with Thomas Beug

  • Noise in my Head, documentation of sound installation at Antje Wachs Gallery, Berlin

  • Swiss Miss: a Gathering, documentation of performance at Gallery Nicola von Senge, created in collaboration with Conny Kipfer

  • Inside-Out, documentation of performance at Kunsthalle Wien am Karlsplatz.

2007

  • Happy Death – Der Glückliche Tod im Leben documentation of performance created in collaboration with Jörg Burger

  • Solo Vocal Recital with Zürich Chamber Orchestra, Zürich, documentation of concert.

1998

  • Eternal Moment: The Artist Clarina Bezzola, 16mm short documentary film directed and produced by Simone Stammbach

 

LECTURES AND TEACHING WORKSHOPS

  •  Wer Ich Sein, Lecture through Sonder Institute, Aeugst a/A, Switzerland.

  • An Evening at the Soapbox Gallery, Lecture and concert , Brooklyn, NY 2019

  • Why do we hide? Lecture series. 1: Swiss Residence of the Ambassador – Beirut,
    2: Ethnographic Museum of the University of Balamand, Koura Campus, 3: Beirut Arab University, Lebanon, 2017

  • Lecture at the Residence of the Swiss Ambassador of New York François Barras, New York, 2013

  • Playground 9, Lecture Series in Chelsea New York, USA, 2012

  • MD Institute (MICA) Mount Royal School of Arts, Baltimore, MD, USA, 2011

  • Art workshop at the Free Education Unit of One World Foundation Sri Lanka, Ahungalla, Sri Lanka, 2010

  • Lucid Conference, New York, USA, 2010

  • Smolny College / St Petersburg University, St. Petersburg, Russia, 2009

  • Nizhniy Novgorod Contemporary Art Center, Nizhniy Novgorod, Russia, 2009

  • University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA, 2009

  • Ohio University, Athens, OH, USA, 2007

  • School of Visual Arts, New York, USA, 2006

  • Agnes Scott College, Atlanta, USA, 2005

  • University of Massachusetts, New Bedford, MA, USA, 2004

  • University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA, 2004

  • The John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Kohler, WI, USA, 2002