Raphael Hefti (b.1978) engages with industrial and natural processes which are pushed and manipulated to their limits to create arresting works across a range of media including photography, sculpture and performance. From a series of beautifully coloured photograms, Lycopodium, created by burning the spores of the eponymous moss against photographic paper, to Replaying the mistake of a broken hammer (2011), a steel bar that has been subjected to different and sometimes interrupted stages of the hardening process leaving the metal at different stages of fragility. Hefti’s works are representations of scientific experimentation and the possibilities of human intervention.
In his 2013 solo show, Quick Fix Remix, at Ancient and Modern, London, the gallery space was transformed into a 19th century foundry that was part sculptural installation and part performance. On the opening night, Hefti demonstrated the process of ‘thermic welding’ in a gallery that was filled with twenty five tonnes of sand, the remains of which could be viewed for the rest of the exhibition, creating a monument to industrial imperfection through his enthralling, and potentially dangerous, performance.
Hefti lives and works in Zurich and London and is represented by Ancient and Modern, London. He studied at Slade School of Fine Art, University College London (2009-2011), Ecole Cantonale d‘art de Lausanne (1998-2002) and undertook an apprenticeship in electronics and mechanics (1993-1997). Recent solo shows include Inside the White Cube at White Cube, Launching Rockets Never Gets Old at Camden Arts Centre and Nature more at CAPC, musée d’art contemporain de Bordeaux.
In 2014, Hefti has a permanent glass piece opening at the Van Gogh Museum, Arles, a solo show at Centre PasquArt, Biel, and he will be curating a season at Lafayette Paris in March.
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«Subtraction as Addition» 2012 Installation view of the show «Launching Rockets Never Gets Old» at Camden Arts Centre, 2012 Dimension 200 x 300 x 3cm © the artist and Ancient&Modern -
«Subtraction as Addition» 2012 Installation view of the show «Launching Rockets Never Gets Old» at Camden Arts Centre, 2012 Dimension 200 x 300 x 3cm © the artist and Ancient&Modern -
«Subtraction as Addition» 2012 Production documentation © the artist -
From the series «Substraction as Addition» 2012 Installation view Whitecube Gallery, London 2012 Luxar coated glass is a product used to eliminate reflection. Through the repeated layering of the treatment, reflection is reintroduced creating a surface with variable optical behaviour, reacting to the ambient light conditions of the space. Dimension 120 x 220cm © the artist and Whitecube -
Installation view of the the show «Nature more» at CAPC, Bordeaux 2013 © the artist and Ancient&Modern -
From the series «Lycopodium» 2013 Photograms on photographic color paper using the gently burning spores of the mossplant Lycopodium Dimensions 100 x 190cm, unique copie © the artist and Ancient&Modern -
«Underlay Push Sticks» 2012 Production documentation © the artist -
From the series «Replaying the mistake of a broken hammer» 2011 Installation view of the show «How to work» at Kunsthalle Basel, 2011 Steel bar subjected to the different stages of the hardening process. The top section shows where the process has been interrupted, leaving it brittle like glass. Dimension ø6cm x 300cm © the artist and Ancient&Modern -
From the series «Replaying the mistake of a broken hammer» Installation view, Liste Basel, 2011 A polished steel rod subjected to an interupted process of tempering. Dimension ø 6 x 130cm © the artist and Ancient&Modern -
From the series «Lycopodium» 2013 Photograms on photographic color paper using the gently burning spores of the mossplant Lycopodium Dimensions 100 x 180cm, unique copie © the artist and Ancient&Modern -
«Thermit Welding» 2012 Installation view SALTS, Basel 2012 © the artist -
«Thermit Welding» 2012 Installation view SALTS, Basel 2012 © the artist
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