Marius Steiger
*1999, lives and works in London and Switzerland

Marius Steiger’s practice offers a unique perspective on contemporary painting, reimagining the Vanitas tradition for the digital, capitalist image economy. His works evoke an artificial stillness, as if frozen in idealised, synthetic time, where familiar objects become icons shaped by desire, fantasy, and repetition. Through shaped canvases that merge realism, abstraction, and digital aesthetics, he stages a tension between the slow labour of painting and the rapid circulation of images, revealing how objects today perform as symbols within an accelerated visual culture.

Steiger holds a Master’s degree in Painting from the Royal College of Art in London and has been awarded a scholarship from the Patronage Fund for Young Swiss Artists of the Kunsthalle Basel. His work is part of public collections such as the Julius Baer Art Collection, Zurich; CC Foundation, Shanghai; Collection of the New Art Dealers Alliance, New York; the Art Collection of the City of Zurich; the Art Collection of the Canton of Bern and the Swiss National Library.

His recent exhibitions include Values & Values with Philipp Timischl, ZIAN, Hangzhou, China (2025); That Was Then, This Is Now, Jeffrey Deitch, Miami (2025); Hermitage, Kunstraum Riehen, Basel, Switzerland (2025); Clear History, Perrotin, Paris, France (2025); Brick Breath Horizon, Lisson X Zian, Lisson Gallery, Shanghai, China (2025); Maison Clearing, Clearing NY LA, Basel, Switzerland (2025); Monsieur Hulot, Blue Velvet, Zurich, Switzerland (2025).

Upcoming projects includes a group show at Tara Downs in New York.

  • Education

    2022–2023 MA Painting, Royal College of Art, London UK

    2015–2019 Visual Communication, Schule für Gestaltung SfGBB, Biel CH

    Solo Exhibitions

    2026 JYH Museum, Shanghai CN (Upcoming)

    2025 Values & Values, ZIAN, Hangzhou CN [with Philipp Timischl]

    2025 Hermitage, Kunstraum Riehen, Basel CH [Institutional]

    2025 Vanity, Duarte Sequeira, Seoul KR

    2025 Monsieur Hulot, Blue Velvet, Zurich CH

    2024 Day, Galleri Opdahl, Stavanger NO

    2024 Marius Steiger, Belvédère Asset Management presented by Blue Velvet, Zurich CH

    2023 Sun shines, Money falls, Blue Velvet, Zurich CH

    2022 Lust for Life, Incubator, London UK

    2021 Four Seasons, Mattenstrasse 81, Biel CH

    Selected group Exhibitions

    2026 We Enter, and the Space Enters Us, ZIAN Gallery, Hangzhou CN

    2026 Values & Values (duo), ZIAN Gallery, Hangzhou CN

    2026 Rare Aesthetic, Tara Downs, New York US 

    2025 That was then, this is now, Jeffrey Deitch, Miami US

    2025 Brick Breath Horizon, Lisson X Zian, Lisson Gallery, Shanghai CN

    2025 Clear History, Perrotin, Paris FR

    2025 Maison Clearing, CLEARING NY LA, Basel CH

    2025 Aeschlimann Corti Award, Kunsthaus Biel, Biel CH

    2025 Bellevue, Rothschild & Co, Zurich CH

    2024 1974/2024, Villa Benkemoun, Arles FR

    2023 May your dream come, Kunsthalle Palazzo, Liestal, Basel CH

    2022 Ohne Titel, Museum zu Allerheiligen, Schaffhausen CH

    2022 Deep Moments, Kunstraum Riehen, Basel CH

    2022 Aeschlimann Corti Award, Kunsthaus Langenthal, Langenthal CH

    2021 Down the hills, Blue Velvet, Zurich CH

    2019 Cantonale, Kunsthaus Pasquart, Biel CH

    Scholarships, Grants & Awards

    2025 Shortlisted, New Contemporaries,London UK

    2025 Nomination, Aeschlimann Corti Award, Bern CH

    2022 Nomination, Aeschlimann Corti Award, Bern CH

    2022 Scholarship, Patronage fund for young Swiss artists, Kunsthalle Basel CH

    2022 Scholarship, Niarchos Foundation for Young Artists, St. Moritz CH

    2021 Work grant, Canton of Bern, Bern CH

    Public Collections

    CC Foundation, Shanghai CN

    Julius Baer Art Collection, Zurich CH

    Collection of the New Art Dealers Alliance, New York City US

    Art Collection City of Zurich, Zurich CH

    Swiss National Library, Bern CH

    Art Collection Canton of Bern, Bern CH