Monster Chetwynd

Monster Chetwynd: The Trompe l’oeil Cleavage

Texts by Elisabeth Bronfen, Emily Pathick, Raphael Gygax, and Ann Demeester, 2025

Softcover 192 pages
Publisher: Snoeck Verlag; Kunsthaus Zurich
ISBN: 9783864424625
Dimensions: 280 x 210 mm

"I'm impatient when it comes to making things, and I always grab hold of everything around me, even if it doesn't belong to me—I use it."

The English artist Monster Chetwynd (*1973 London) rose to international acclaim with her carnivalesque performances, which are reminiscent of medieval mystery and carnival plays and draw on themes from art history and pop culture. She also made a name for herself in the 2000s under the aliases Spartacus and Marvin Gaye Chetwynd. In 2012, she became the first performance artist to be nominated for the prestigious Turner Prize, and her work continues to occupy one of the most important positions in the field of contemporary performance. Chetwynd's artistic oeuvre encompasses much more, however: she works with painting and sculpture, installations, and films. Her artistic practice is characterized by the invocation and combination of a wide variety of culturally informed sources. She creates new things, combines humor with curiosity, and seeks collaborations – these are the most striking features of her work. The exhibition at the Kunsthaus Zürich is the first comprehensive presentation of Monster Chetwynd's work in Switzerland. Over 60 works from the past 25 years will be part of an immersive exhibition architecture. The book accompanying the exhibition, "The Trompe-l'œil Cleavage," unfolds the diversity of her work in an aesthetic approach coordinated with the artist.