François Ruegg
1954Born in Brussels, he is a Swiss visual artist, a ceramist by training , using mainly porcelain.
His works were initially inspired by urban signs and then formulated a critique of society, questioning the oppression of norms and the illusion of appearances.
He has been a member of the International Academy of Ceramics (AIC-IAC) since 1994 and an honorary member of the Association of Swiss Ceramists (ACS-ASK)1976-80At the end of his studies at the École des arts décoratifs de Genève, ceramics section, François Ruegg travels to the United States and discovers in particular the work of Ron Nagle (en), Richard Shaw and Toby Buonagurio (en).
In 1982, he did an internship in Idaho at the Sun Valley Center for the Arts, then continued his research in his studio in Switzerland.
1993he was invited to the Lanka Ceramics Center of Research, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, a country to which he returned several times.
1994he is invited to carry out a project (supported by Pro Helvetia and the Ikea Foundation) at the Esculea Taller Arte Fuego in Caracas (Venezuela), which will lead him to teach, from 1995 to 1998, at the Instituto Universitario Superior de Artes Plasticas Armando Reveron in that city.
1998He returned to Switzerland where he was appointed professor at the École des Arts Décoratifs de Genève (future Haute école d'Arts appliqués). He will teach there until 2013.
2006the Haute école d'Arts appliqués merges with the École supérieure des Beaux-arts to form the Haute École d'art et de design (HEAD) de Genève. He does a postgraduate degree there himself.
He successfully completed the monumental fresco by Hans Erni in front of the entrance to the Palais des Nations in Geneva, inaugurated in 2009. One of the interests of the project was to develop innovative industrial production techniques adapted to the public space in Switzerland. At the same time, he led several Masterclasses or Workshops, in France, Brazil, Spain and China.
2016He worked for several months as an artist in residence in Jingdezhen, China, to complete the production of the Statuts | Statues series, exhibited at the Ariana Museum in Geneva in 2017-2018.
His works were initially inspired by urban signs and then formulated a critique of society, questioning the oppression of norms and the illusion of appearances.
He has been a member of the International Academy of Ceramics (AIC-IAC) since 1994 and an honorary member of the Association of Swiss Ceramists (ACS-ASK)1976-80At the end of his studies at the École des arts décoratifs de Genève, ceramics section, François Ruegg travels to the United States and discovers in particular the work of Ron Nagle (en), Richard Shaw and Toby Buonagurio (en).
In 1982, he did an internship in Idaho at the Sun Valley Center for the Arts, then continued his research in his studio in Switzerland.
1993he was invited to the Lanka Ceramics Center of Research, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, a country to which he returned several times.
1994he is invited to carry out a project (supported by Pro Helvetia and the Ikea Foundation) at the Esculea Taller Arte Fuego in Caracas (Venezuela), which will lead him to teach, from 1995 to 1998, at the Instituto Universitario Superior de Artes Plasticas Armando Reveron in that city.
1998He returned to Switzerland where he was appointed professor at the École des Arts Décoratifs de Genève (future Haute école d'Arts appliqués). He will teach there until 2013.
2006the Haute école d'Arts appliqués merges with the École supérieure des Beaux-arts to form the Haute École d'art et de design (HEAD) de Genève. He does a postgraduate degree there himself.
He successfully completed the monumental fresco by Hans Erni in front of the entrance to the Palais des Nations in Geneva, inaugurated in 2009. One of the interests of the project was to develop innovative industrial production techniques adapted to the public space in Switzerland. At the same time, he led several Masterclasses or Workshops, in France, Brazil, Spain and China.
2016He worked for several months as an artist in residence in Jingdezhen, China, to complete the production of the Statuts | Statues series, exhibited at the Ariana Museum in Geneva in 2017-2018.
Public collections
Museum Keramion, Germany /Saga Prefectural Museum, Japan /Benaki museum, Greece /Ariana museum, Geneva /MUDAC, Lausanne, Switzerland /Yingko museum, Taipei /Sydney Myer foundation, Australia /Swiss Visual Art Fund