Lot
40
Electric #4 de la série Electric Mountains
C-Print, 2009
100 x 127 cm
1/5
Estimate
$4 500
Kneubühler’s Electric Mountain series commanded attention by capturing the eerie nighttime illuminations of Quebec ski resorts in photos that were both ironically picturesque and seriously documentary. Like something out of Close Encounters of the Third Kind, his photographs show a strange, abandoned recreational universe in which the lit slopes seem like sign code directed to the stars. (Richard Rhodes)
Biographical note
Thomas Kneubühler was born in Solothurn, Switzerland, and has been living in Canada since 2000. In 2003, he completed a master’s degree in studio arts at Concordia University, Montreal. His work often deals with social issues and how technology is affecting people’s lives. His work has been presented in exhibitions in Europe and North America, most recently at the Québec Triennial at the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal, the Centre culturel canadien (Paris), and Centre Pasquart (Biel). In 2011 he received the Pratt & Whitney Canada Prize of the Conseil des arts de Montréal, and in 2012 the Swiss Art Award. His works can be found in several collections, including those of the Kunstsammlung Basel-Landschaft, Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada, the Conseil des arts de Montréal, the Canton Solothurn, and RBC Royal Bank.
“Whether it is the ambiguous boundaries of public and private space, the all-pervasive spectre of security surveillance or even the radiant, if dehumanizing, beauty of cityscapes, Kneubühler's practice tellingly identifies the co-existing insecurities, uncertainties and subtle pleasures embedded in the structures of modern life.” (Bryne McLaughlin, Canadian Art)