Con lo zucchero in bocca
Gianfranco Baruchello, Binta Diaw, Gina Fischli, Pauline Julier, Oz Oderbolz, Sergio Rojas Chaves, Virginie Sistek, Milva Stutz

The group exhibition Con lo zucchero in bocca explores the relationship between resource extraction and sweetness. The project is inspired by the villa that now houses the Istituto Svizzero in Rome, once owned by Carolina Maraini-Sommaruga and Emilio Maraini, a Ticinese pioneer in the beet sugar industry in Italy. Taking sugar and the history of its production as a starting point, the exhibition addresses the imagery associated with the exploitation of resources, exposing how notions of sweetness, romance and desire often contribute to softening narratives of domestication and conquest. 

The exhibition presents both new and existing works by artists working with sculpture, painting, installation and film. Through historical accounts, autobiography or fiction, the protagonists of these works grapple with the human-constructed concept of nature, exposing the narrative strategies concealing the exploitation of animals, resources, land, and communities. The works in the exhibition address the narrative motifs and images to which we are accustomed when talking about nature, breaking free from the naive, escapist and conciliatory gaze that often characterises it. 

The title of the exhibition evokes the feeling of sugar in one’s mouth, emphasising the embodiment of grand narratives through personal stories. The works on display often co-opt and distort the use of everyday and familiar materials such as furniture and food. Irony often emerges as a critical tool, while various metabolic processes accompany the experience of the exhibition. Spanning from the microscopic to the macroscopic – from something as small as sugar dust to something as vast as a galaxy – the works on display subvert expectations around ecological discourse, offering new and urgent forms of storytelling. 

With the generous support of:

Ernst Göhner Stiftung

Prometeo Gallery for the realisation of Binta Diaw’s work

Biographies

Gianfranco Baruchello (1924-2023) worked and lived between Rome and Paris. His research is defined by its interdisciplinary approach, crossing multiple media including painting, object, sculpture, activity, film, writing and installation. His first significant group exhibition was in 1962 in New York (New Realists, Sidney Janis Gallery), followed by his first solo show in Rome in 1963 at Galleria La Tartaruga and a subsequent solo exhibition in New York in 1964 (Cordier & Ekstrom Gallery). In the early 1960s, his painting used materials such as Plexiglas and aluminium in addition to canvas, with a reduction of images and words in a complex spatial arrangement. In 1968, he presented the fictitious company Artiflex, which operated under the slogan ‘Artiflex commodifies everything’. During the 1970s, he explored the relationship between art and agriculture through the activity Agricola Cornelia S.p.A. and in the 1990s he devoted himself to outdoor projects: Il Giardino and Il Bosco.  In 1998, with Carla Subrizi, he set up the Baruchello Foundation. His works can be found in the world’s most important museums. His most recent retrospective exhibitions include: Galleria nazionale d’arte moderna, Rome, 2011; Deichtorhallen-Sammlung Falckenberg, Hamburg, 2014; ZKM, Karlsruhe, 2014; Triennale di Milano, Milan, 2025; Raven Row, London, 2017; Villa Arson, Nice, 2018; MART, Rovereto, 2018.

Binta Diaw (*1995, Milan; lives and works in Milan and Dakar) is an Italian-Senegalese artist who graduated from the Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera in Milan and the École d’Art et de Design de Grenoble in France. Binta Diaw’s visual research focuses on social phenomena of migration, notions of belonging, the relationship with history and its archives and the black female body, providing powerful insights into Black individuals’ lived experiences. By using organic materials such as hair, seeds, soil, and textiles, Diaw creates installations that reflect on creates thought-provoking installations, encouraging dialogues on themes of collective and ancestral memory, belonging, and resilience. Recent exhibitions include 15th Gwangju Biennale – Pansori. A soundscape of the 21st century, Gwangju (Korea, 2024); Manifesta 15 Barcelona Metropolitana, Barcellona (Spain, 2024); MAXXI Bvlgari Prize 2024, MAXXI – museo nazionale delle arti del XXI secolo, Rome (Italy, 2024); Journeying, Containment, Carrying, La Casa Encendida, Madrid (Spain); uMoya – The Sacred Return of Lost Things, Liverpool Biennale (United Kingdom, 2023); Infiltrées – 5 manières d’habiter le monde, Reiffers Art Initiatives, Paris (France, 2023); Maa ka Maaya ka ca ayere kono — On Multiplicity, Difference, Becoming and Heritage, 13th Bamako Encounters (Mali, 2022); Paysages, Magasins Généraux, Grenoble (France, 2022); Still Present!, 12th Berlin Biennale (Germany, 2022); The Land of Our Birth is a Woman, Centrale Fies, Dro (Italy, 2022); Toolu Xeer, Galerie Cécile Fakhoury, Dakar (Senegal, 2022); Unraveling The (Under-) Development Complex or Toward A Post–(Under-) Development Interdependence, Savvy Contemporary, Berlin (Germany, 2022).

Gina Fischli (*1989, Zurich; lives and works in Zurich) obtained her BFA at the University of Fine Arts in Hamburg in 2015 and completed her MFA at the Royal Academy of Art in London in 2018. Rooted in her early studies in set design, Fischli’s practice explores the familiar mechanisms of sculpture and space through alternative production processes, often using craft techniques and unusual materials. She transforms everyday subjects, such as animals, household objects, and clothing, into objects of desire and despair. She has held solo exhibitions at Neuer Essener Kunstverein, Essen; Swiss Institute NY; Forde, Geneva; Chapter NY; 303 Gallery; Gallerie Hussenot; Soft Opening and many others. Recently her work has been included in group exhibitions at Aspen Art Museum, Aspen; Sculpture Garden, Geneva Biennale, Parc des Eaux-Vives, Geneva; Fri Art, Fribourg; Kunstverein Harburger Bahnhof, Hamburg; Royal Academy, London; Cork Street Banner Projects, London; Kim? Contemporary Art Center, Riga, Schaulager, Basel; Kunstmuseum Solothurn and others.

Pauline Julier (*1985, Geneva; lives and works in Geneva) is a Swiss French artist and filmmaker. Before following the Art and Politics Experimental program at Sciences Po Paris under Bruno Latour, she studied Political sciences at Science Po Grenoble and Photography at the École nationale supérieure de la photographie in Arles. Her films and installations have been shown at exhibitions and festivals around the world. In addition to winning the Swiss Art Award in 2010 and 2021, her solo show Naturalis Historia opened at the Centre culturel suisse in Paris in 2017 and then toured other venues, as well as forming part of the group exhibition Critical Zone curated by Latour in 2020 at the ZKM Karlsruhe. In an approach that interweaves scientific and artistic, documentary and fictional perspectives, Julier explores the complex relationship between humans and the nonhuman environment in the past, present, and future. Her works draw connections linking scientific findings with rituals and myths, creating a constantly shifting and reemerging vision from multiple perspectives that invites us to step back and reflect on our place in the world. Her works pose questions about the production of images and often feature input from writers, scientists, and local people encountered in the field. She received the ‘‘Mondes Nouveaux’’ Grant from the French Cultural Department in 2022. She had a major solo show at Aargauer Kunsthaus (Switzerland) in 2024 and is currently working on her first fiction feature film.

Oz Oderbolz (*1988, Lucerne; lives and works in Zurich) creates across performance, installation, sculpture, and curatorial practice, using their self-chosen name to assert autonomy and self-determination. Their work explores the performative power of objects, recontextualizing traditions shaped by patriarchal and nationalist structures. Through artistic intervention, Oz challenges fixed values, opening queer and intersectional perspectives. Drawing from pop culture, queerness, and spirituality, Oz fosters community and exchange, seeing thresholds as spaces for new constellations. Their practice rethinks collective memory and power, examining how material objects shape perception and access. Oz studied at Comart, Zurich (Bachelor in Physical Theater, 2006–2009) and ZHdK, Zurich (Bachelor of Arts, 2019–2023). They received the Werkbeitrag from the Canton of Zurich (2024) and the Popkredit from the City of Zurich (2015). Their exhibitions include Country Offside, Ausstellungsraum Klingental, Basel (2024); Basel Social Club, Basel (2024); zentral!, Förderausstellung Zentralschweiz, Kunstmuseum Luzern (2023); Robert Estermann & Oz Oderbolz, Duo Show, Last Tango, Zurich (2023); Meet Me Half Way, Wallstreet, Fribourg (2023); Garden of Earthly Delight, Nest, ZHdK, Zurich (2022); En Suit, Windhager von Kaenel, Lausanne (2022); Ufficio della notte, Zurich (2022); Piece of Me, Coalmine, Winterthur (2022); Camp Fires, Rote Fabrik, Zurich (2021).

Sergio Rojas Chaves (*1992, Venezuela; lives and works between Switzerland and Costa Rica) collaborates with non-human partners, such as plants and animals, to challenge anthropocentrism through gift-giving and affection. Rojas Chaves has a background in architecture and community development. Their works activate new relationships and tell untold stories and narratives about animals and plants, adopting affective approaches to biology. Their projects, which include sculptures, installations, videos, photography, and performances, have been exhibited in solo and group shows, most recently at Stadtgalerie Bern, 12th Salon ACME in México, Budapest Galéria, Macalline Art Center in Beijing, MAI Riyadh, Kunsthaus Baselland, CAN Neuchâtel, MAFA Arad in Romania, MADC San José, MAC Panama, Fundación Paiz in Guatemala, TEOR/ética San José, and la_cápsula in Zurich, among others. Their work has also been part of the 8th Gherdeina Biennale, the 10th Central American Biennale, and the 9th Inquieta Imagen Biennale, as well as the Reunion Performance Festival in Freetown, Sierra Leone, and La Tigra, Honduras. Rojas Chaves is the co-director of the REUNION art space in San José.

Virginie Sistek (*1999, Geneva; lives and works in Lausanne) studies social phenomena and the power dynamics that arise from them, with a particular focus on the theme of domestication. Starting from concrete situations, through installations, performances, and videos, she explores the elements that underlie consent or disagreement between individuals. She obtained her BA in Fine Arts from ECAL in Renens and her MA in Art Nature Gender from the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland in Basel. Notable solo and duo exhibitions include: L’Envie de Plaire, Mario Kreuzberg, City Salts, Basel; with Sophie Jung, Provence Magazine Pavilion, Zurich; Pâtis Tidiness, Egg Space, Zurich; Pierre qui maousse, Lokal-In, Biel/Bienne; A040404, with Nicolas Ponce, La Placette, Lausanne. Among her group exhibitions: Melting Point For Space, Basel; L’Effet de serre, Abbatiale de Bellelay, Saicourt; with Kaiserwache, Basel Social Club, Basel; Plakataktion, 50 Jahre AK, Ausstellungsraum Klingental, Basel; Long Distance, Hamlet, Zurich; Plattform24, Kunstmuseum Appenzell, Appenzell; Hope at Responsibility, Auf Dem Wolf, Basel; The world pulse beats beyond my door, 84 14ST, Brooklyn, NY, USA, among others. She received the Visarte Vaud Award in 2021 for Bienpeureuse and in 2024 won the Helvetia Art Prize during Plattform24.

Milva Stutz (*1985, Zurich; lives and works in Zurich) explores, through the mediums of video and drawing, the dynamics of interpersonal relationships: awkwardness, intimacy, physicality, and emotion in an era characterized by digitalization and technology. Her recent exhibitions include If You See Me Stumble at Kunsthaus Langenthal (solo, 2024), Apropos Hodler. Current Perspectives on an Icon at Kunsthaus Zurich (2024), MONOTYPES Edition VFO at Kunsthalle Zurich (2023), Waiting for Your Call at Kunsthalle Lucerne (solo, 2023), Tricky Women/Tricky Realities at Bildraum07 in Vienna (solo with Maja Gehrig, 2023), The Lobster Needs to Get Rid of Its Shell at a&o Kunsthalle Leipzig (2023), TSCHÜÜSS Festival at the Centre culturel suisse in Paris (2022), Gazed and Confused at Last Tango in Zurich (2022), and Werkschau at Museum Haus Konstruktiv in Zurich (2021). Her cinematic work has been featured in festivals such as the Annecy International Animated Film Festival (2022/2020), PÖFF Black Nights Film Festival Tallinn (2020), Tricky Women Festival Vienna (2022/2020), Guanajuato International Film Festival in Mexico (2019), and DOK Leipzig (2018).