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 include a solo presentation at Art Basel Unlimited and his first institutional solo exhibition in Asia at Jiayuanhai Art Museum in Shanghai, China.
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Education
2022–2023 MA Painting, Royal College of Art, London, United Kingdom
2015–2019 Visual Communication, Schule für Gestaltung SfGBB, Biel, Switzerland
Solo Exhibitions
Forthcoming JYH Museum, Shanghai, China [Institutional]
Forthcoming Blue Velvet, Zurich, Switzerland2025 Values & Values, ZIAN, Hangzhou, China [with Philipp Timischl]
2025 Hermitage, Kunstraum Riehen, Basel, Switzerland [Institutional]
2025 Vanity, Duarte Sequeira, Seoul, Korea
2025 Monsieur Hulot, Blue Velvet, Zurich, Switzerland
2024 Day, Galleri Opdahl, Stavanger, Norway
2023 Sun shines, Money falls, Blue Velvet, Zurich, Switzerland
2022 Lust for Life, Incubator, London, United KingdomSelected group Exhibitions
2026 Rare Aesthetics, Tara Downs, New York, USA
2026 Courtesy, Blue Velvet, Zurich, Switzerland
2026 We Enter, and the Space Enters Us, Simple One with ZIAN, Beijing, China
2025 That was then, this is now, Jeffrey Deitch, Miami, USA
2025 Brick Breath Horizon, Lisson X Zian, Lisson Gallery, Shanghai, China
2025 Clear History, Perrotin, Paris, France
2025 Maison Clearing, CLEARING NY LA, Basel, Switzerland
2025 Aeschlimann Corti Award, Kunsthaus Biel, Biel, Switzerland
2025 Bellevue, Rothschild & Co, Zurich, Switzerland
2024 Cantonale, Kunsthaus Interlsaken, Interlaken, Switzerland
2024 1974/2024, Villa Benkemoun, Arles, France
2023 May your dream come, Kunsthalle Palazzo, Liestal, Basel, Switzerland
2023 Banana branches, Lamb Gallery, London, United Kingdom
2022 Ohne Titel, Museum zu Allerheiligen, Schaffhausen, Switzerland
2022 Aeschlimann Corti Award, Kunsthaus Langenthal, Langenthal, Switzerland
2021 Cantonale, Kunsthaus Biel, Biel, Switzerland
2021 Cantonale, Musée des Arts, Moutier, Switzerland
2021 Down the hills, Blue Velvet, Zurich, SwitzerlandScholarships, Grants & Awards
2025 Shortlisted, New Contemporaries, United Kingdom
2025 Nomination, Aeschlimann Corti Award, Bern, Switzerland
2022 Nomination, Aeschlimann Corti Award, Bern, Switzerland
2022 Scholarship, Patronage fund for young Swiss artists, Kunsthalle Basel, Switzerland
2022 Scholarship, Niarchos Foundation for Young Artists, St. Moritz, Switzerland
2021 Work grant, Canton of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
2021 Work grant, City of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
2020 Emerging Award, Berner Design Stiftung, Bern, SwitzerlandPublic Collections
CC Foundation, Shanghai, China
Julius Baer Art Collection, Zurich, Switzerland
Collection of the New Art Dealers Alliance, New York City, USA
Art Collection City of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
Swiss National Library, Bern, Switzerland
Art Collection Canton of Bern, Bern, Switzerland -
Art Basel Unlimited (Solo)
15 — 21 June 2026Courtesy (Group)
21 February — 4 April 2026Monsieur Hulot (Solo)
26 April — 6 June 2025
NADA, Miami (Solo)
3 — 7 December 2024Belvédère Asset Management (Solo)
8 June — 17 September 2024
Artissima, Turin (Solo)
2 — 5 November 2023Sun shines, Money falls (Solo)
15 April — 27 May 2023Down the Hills (Group)
27 November — 22 January 2022 -
Marius Steiger Case (Gaze), 2025 Oil and acrylic on linen 155 × 115 × 4.5 cm
Marius Steiger Luck, 2025 Oil and acrylic on linen 11 × 11 × 4.5 cm / 4 ⅜ × 4 ⅜ × 1 ¾ in
Marius Steiger Car (Totem), 2025 Oil and acrylic on linen 420 × 137 × 4.5 cm / 165 ⅜ × 53 ⅞ × 1 ¾ in
Marius Steiger Ball Pile (Optimism), 2025 Oil and acrylic on linen 240 × 120 × 4.5 cm / 94 ½ × 47 ¼ × 1 ¾ in
Marius Steiger Case and Desk (Welcome), 2025 Oil and acrylic on linen 205 × 175 × 4.5 cm / 80 ¾ × 68 ⅞ × 1 ¾ in
Marius Steiger Apple Circle, 2025 Oil and acrylic on linen 38 × 38 × 4.5 cm / 15 × 15 × 1 ¾ in
Marius Steiger Door (Consoling Love), 2025 Oil and acrylic on linen 410 × 240 × 4.5 cm / 161 ½ × 94 ½ × 1 ¾ in
Marius Steiger Case (Utility), 2025 Oil and acrylic on linen 155 × 115 × 4.5 cm / 61 × 45 ¼ × 1 ¾ in
Marius Steiger Wood, 2025 Oil and acrylic on linen Each: 290 × 25 × 4.5 cm / 114 ¼ × 9 ¾ × 1 ¾ in
Marius Steiger Display (Experience the Values), 2026 Oil and acrylic on linen 61 ¾ × 48 × 1 ¾ in / 157 × 122 × 4.5 cm
Marius Steiger Case (Summertime), 2025 Oil and acrylic on linen 155 × 115 × 4.5 cm / 61 × 45 ¼ × 1 ¾ in
Marius Steiger Van, 2024 Oil and acrylic on linen 240 × 250 × 4.5 cm / 94 ½ × 98 ½ × 1 ¾ in
Marius Steiger Wall (Hermitage), 2025 276 parts; Oil and acrylic on linen 300 × 480 × 4.5 cm / 118 ⅛ × 189 × 1 ¾ in