Alexandre Joly
Born in 1977.
Alexandre Joly lives and works in Geneva. Trained in Geneva between 1997 and 2003, he completed a course of study at the institutions then grouped under HEAA/HES, followed by a postgraduate programme at ESBA/HEAD.
His practice frequently draws on materials of natural origin—wood, feathers, stones, plants, and taxidermied animals—and regularly revisits motifs of nature, landscapes, and animals. Sound is a recurring component of his approach: he uses small piezoelectric loudspeakers placed on a range of surfaces to produce sound or set it vibrating.
Research and experimentation, along with the temporality of materials and situations, lie at the heart of his work; in this respect, he has long pursued the creation and maintenance of an aquatic garden at Grange Neuve in France, which he considers a work in its own right. This research-oriented stance has led him to scientific collaborations: in 2010, through Pro Helvetia’s Swiss Artists-in-Labs programme, he worked with biologists in China and studied and recorded amphibians.
Among the noted milestones in his career are the receipt of a Swiss Art Award in 2007 and a prize from the Fondation Irène Reymond in 2010 (as well as, according to sources, a grant for artists over the age of 35 in 2016), and a mentioned commission for Audemars Piguet in Tokyo.
