Marta Riniker-Radich

Riniker-Radich is a painter well-known for her luminescent pencil drawings. She has refined her drawing practice by using simple techniques and materials, yet still achieves a powerful effect through the masterful use of colour and layering. Her drawings, which are executed in series of A4 paper with coloured pencils, offer a glimpse into abstract realities that interact with other mediums including text, objects, and site-specific installations, to create overarching narratives. This is seen in her exhibition Every Home a Fortress Every Hearth a Blossom, in which drawings of cupcakes and Easter eggs are displayed in stark domestic settings alongside objects that evoke the cult of survivalism. Riniker-Radich's projects often derive from specific historical events or situations, ...

such as the California electricity crisis of the late 1990s or the petroleum industry in Texas. Through her work, she examines the impact that socio-political and economic factors have on human behavior, as well as the development of power structures, both individual and corporate. The highlighted themes in her work, such as cronyism, insecurity, and regression to childhood, feature a network of symbols and fictionalized narratives that offer insights into the complexities of modern life.

Galerie Francesca Pia was founded 1990 in Bern and from their first exhibitions forward has consistently fostered contemporary artists including Betty Woodman (1990), Peter Fischli & David Weiss (1992), Hans-Peter Feldmann (1993), Thomas Bayrle (1998), Mai-Thu Perret (2000), Wade Guyton (2004), Jutta Koether (2008) and Rochelle Feinstein (2016) et al. Today the gallery is known for the discovery and promotion of emerging artists. After 16 years in Bern, the gallery moved to a larger space in Zurich in 2007. In 2012 the gallery extended and relocated to a more generous space in the historic Löwenbrau building, where it continues to engage in an ambitious program, representing over thirty artists of different generations.