Current MRes student, Sylvain Gelewski has an exhibition on until 20 December 2025 at NEUR KUNSTVEREIN GIESSEN in Germany.
Started in 2023, The Court Jester is a performative installation that draws inspiration from the figure of the court fool. Here, this figure can be transposed onto the neurodivergent and/or queer person—often precarious and sometimes marginalised—navigating an ultra-normative, binary, elitist, and ableist society. It can also be seen as a reflection of the artist, likewise precarious and occasionally critical, operating within the contemporary contexts of the market, festivals, and institutions.
The work unfolds in chapters. Chapters 1–3 were presented between 2023 and 2024 in Sweden and Switzerland. Confidante is the fourth: a frozen banquet scene, seemingly abandoned by the characters who once inhabited it. Paintings of jesters and symbols sit alongside collected objects and furniture.
The exhibition is made possible with the support of the Republic and Canton of Geneva, as well as the City of Geneva.
Confidante, performance view, Neuer Kunstverein, Giessen, DE, 2025 ©Rolf K. Wegst/Courtesy: Neuer Kunstverein Giessen & the artist
Sylvain Gelewski (he/they) is an artist and curator who graduated in Contemporary Art Practices from HEAD – Geneva (CH) in 2019. He is currently pursuing a Master of Research at the Royal College of Art in London (UK), focusing on figures of marginalisation through practice-based research. His interests include lists, colour, political events, neurodivergence, and the value of labour, explored through a play with norms and their most superfluous details. Recent solo shows and residencies: Hangar CIA, Lisbon, PT (2025); Sihl Delta, Zurich, CH (2024); Backbeatbolaget, Sandviken, SE (2023); Cité internationale des arts, Paris, FR; Dogo Residenz, Lichtensteig, CH (2021); E-Werk, Freiburg i.B., DE (2020). Recent group shows: Kunsthalle, Trier, DE; Gowen Contemporary, Geneva, CH (2024); Ausstellungsraum Klingental, Basel, CH; Raum für Sichtbarkeit, Berlin, DE (2023); Flux Laboratory, Geneva, CH; der TANK, Basel, CH (2022); Centre d’Art Contemporain, Geneva, CH; Fabienne Levy Gallery, Lausanne, CH; Centre d’Art Contemporain, Yverdon, CH (2020); Archivio Conz, Berlin, DE (2019).
