In his engraved work, the Canadian-Swiss artist Frédéric Cordier (*1985) examines the transformation of landscapes under the impact of human activity. Conceived as “contemporary capriccios,” his panoramic compositions replace romantic ruins with skyscrapers, infrastructure, and industrial architecture. Their monumentality and meticulous precision convey a critical fascination with the dominance of human-made structures over the natural environment.
Cordier’s graphic vocabulary—characterised by geometric forms, regular grids, and binary black-and-white contrasts—draws equally on the worlds of computing, mechanics, and architecture. Ranging from digital drawing to manual linoleum engraving, his works reflect the increasing mechanisation of the world while remaining firmly rooted in the ancient tradition of relief printing.
This first monographic museum exhibition of the artist’s work brings together a dozen large-scale prints, presenting landscapes of dizzying detail and visual density.
The exhibition is curated by Margaux Honnegger, assistant curator at the Cantonal Print Room.
