IN PLAIN SIGHT

GROUP SHOW


06.12.24
– 08.03.25

ALEXANDRA GERBER
ALTHERR WEISS
DIMITRI BÄHLER
FABIO HENDRY
GUY MELDEM
LIVIA LAUBER
MALTE VAN DER MEYDEN
MATTEO BAUER vBORNEMANN
NICOLAS ZANONI
PICCOLLI
PROFILER
SEBASTIAN KOMMER



SECOND NATURE PROJECTS
4th FLOOR, PFINGSTWEIDSTR. 31
8005 ZÜRICH

OPEN:
THURS & FRI, 14.00–18.00
AND ON APPOINTMENT 
info@secondnature.ch or 079 7477463

In Plain Sight presents furniture and sculptural objects that embrace the unassuming. Drawing on concepts of appropriation, the legacy of the ready-made, and objets trouvés, these works go beyond the conceptual act of declaration to critically engage with contemporary topics such as material excess, recontextualisation, and reinterpretation.

Through playful gestures, precise interventions, and subtle provocations, the works incorporate and subvert seemingly neutral industrial components as well as discarded and surplus materials. By shifting and merging their material contexts, they uncover new aesthetic possibilities and intriguing object typologies. Here, 'sight' becomes an active process—a dialogue that continually navigates the tension between seeing, understanding, and experiencing. In John Berger’s words:, “The relation between what we see and what we know is never settled.”






Photography: Jeremy Ayer


SELECTED WORKS


ALEXANDRA GERBER





MATTEO BAUER BORNEMANN




FABIO HENDRY, HOT WIRE EXTENSIONS




LIVIA LAUBER



NICOLAS ZANONI





MALTE VAN DER MEYDEN




ALTHERR / WEISS




DIMITRI BÄHLER






GUY MELDEM 





SEBASTIAN KOMMER




PICCOLLI









YVONNE ROGENMOSER

FUTURE – can you see me 

PLEASE WAIT FOR ME 


27.09. –
16.11.2024


SECOND NATURE PROJECTS
4th FLOOR 
PFINGSTWEIDSTR. 31
8005 ZÜRICH



Various elements on these vases draw the viewer's eye, inviting an instinctive search for order—a distinctly human tendency. However, once the initial impressions settle and these multifaceted worlds are explored, a question naturally arises: how are these pieces crafted? Yvonne Rogenmoser constructs her ceramics entirely by hand, a non-traditional approach that grants her significant creative freedom— a freedom she embraces in multiple ways. In her latest series of vases, Rogenmoser expands her repertoire of forms and motifs. The familiar visual themes from her earlier works now include the human body, with nudes signaling a shift toward the personal and intimate. The depiction of skin symbolizes vulnerability and fragility—concepts mirrored in the delicate nature of ceramics. Vessels, in fact, are akin to human bodies: it’s no coincidence that we refer to the “belly,” “neck,” or “foot” of a vase.

Also new in this series are graphic elements such as textual fragments and ornamental patterns, which Rogenmoser applies using stencils. In contrast, the figurative elements are etched into the surface using the traditional sgraffito technique, where designs are scratched into the leather-hard clay coated with white slip. After the initial firing, paint is rubbed into the incised lines, with the excess wiped away using a sponge. Even after glazing and the second firing, the traces of this process remain visible, adding depth and texture to the surface. Rogenmoser’s intuitive process governs the composition and selection of motifs, blending two seemingly opposing realms: the emotional landscape of human experience and the everyday banality of life. She intentionally plays with the coexistence of levity and introspection.

Yvonne Rogenmoser’s vessels are repositories of many worlds: the mundane and the remote, the familiar and the dreamlike. More than mere carriers of imagery, these vases hold the potential for untold narratives. Borrowing a term from American author Ursula K. Le Guin, they can be seen as "carrier bags" of culture, imbued with a light yet profound exploration of the human condition.

Susanna Koeberle






Photography: Claude Barrault


SELECTED WORKS




NOMAD ST. MORITZ


22.02 –
25.02.2024

FORMER HOTEL EDEN


WITH
STÉPHANIE BAECHLER
ELISSA LACOSTE
DIMITRI BÄHLER
office for ordinary objects


Reflecting Second Nature's dedication to emerging and idiosyncratic design approaches, our showcase at Nomad responds to the dismantled utility rooms of the former Hotel Eden with an intimate display of works that defy conventional categorization. Through the fusion of unexpected materials and unruly processes, each piece reveals a new craft language, sparking captivating dialogues with our surroundings, whether human-made or natural.



SELECTED WORKS










THE OFFICE


RAW SENSES 
01.09 – 16.09.2023
13th FLOOR
HARDTURMSTR. 3
ZURICH



WITH
AATB, (F/CH) ALEXANDRA GERBER (F/UK) ANGELIKI PAPAVASILEIOU, (GK/CH), BEN GANZ (CH/USA, DANIEL DURNIN (UK), ELISSA LACOSTE (F) GREGORY TSANTILAS (GK/CH), HAUS OTTO (D), HOT WIRE EXTENSIONS (CH), LAURIN SCHAUB, (CH), MEUBLES MELDEM, (CH), OFFICE FOR ORDINARY OBJECTS, (D/CH), PANTER TOURRON, (CH), RAPHAEL KADID, (CH), RETO ANDRI OBJEKTE, (CH), ROBERT A. WETTSTEIN, (CH), SALIENTI, (IT/CH), SANCHEZ MORGILLO, (CH), SÉBASTIEN EL IDRISSI, CH, STÉPHANIE HORNIG A/CH, STUDIO MARTHINS (DK/CH), STUDIO PICCOLLI, (CH), TINO SEUBERT, (D/UK) TOBIAS BIERI, (CH)



The Office brings together contemporary designers and architects from Switzerland and beyond to celebrate and promote interdisciplinary and experimental creative work. From the ready-made and playful to the technical and minimalist, each work on display foregrounds objects and furniture pieces that transcend functionality and exemplify vision and exploratory processes. Alluding to the changing role of the office from a space with standardised fit-outs to a more hybrid and social space, this year’s exhibition exemplifies the search for alternatives and counter-strategies that respond to rapidly shifting realities.

THE OFFICE is a project by RAW SENSES - a collective endeavour organised in collaboration with Hot Wire Extension (Fabio Hendry), Kairos Studios (Sebastian Vargas), Villa Nomad (Sarah Quan) and Second Nature Projects (Giovanna Lisignoli) on the occasion of Zürich Design Weeks 2023.


Oliver Kümmerli © profiler.world

SELECTED WORKS










NOMAD ST. MORITZ
SAMPLING


23.02 –
26.02.2023

GRACE, ST. MORITZ


WITH
STÉPHANIE BAECHLER
DIMITRI BÄHLER
FABIO HENDRY
YVONNE ROGENMOSER
TINO SEUBERT



Second Nature presents a collection that includes textiles, ceramics, lighting objects and small furniture pieces. Common to all is an approach that can be interpreted as 'sampling' – a process that borrows fragments from other contexts to organize them into a new relationship. This re-reading and collaging of existing materials stand for artistic approaches that freely move between medium and context to bring forth intriguing objects and new ways to imagine our bonds with the things around us.  



SELECTED WORKS