About
BIO
Swiss artist Laura Badertscher’s practice is rooted in figuration, with a strong focus
on the human body. Her work explores the tension between the beauty and
strangeness of human existence and the ways in which it has been portrayed
throughout art history, pop culture, and everyday media. Drawing on a wide range of
source materials – from newspapers and magazines to postcards and digitally
generated imagery – she engages critically and playfully with the iconography of the
body.
In recent years, Badertscher has increasingly focused on the genre of the nude and
its complex history of representation. By juxtaposing iconic imagery with banal or
absurd snapshots, she creates a visual language that can be seductive, humorous,
and disconcerting at once. Her painting reflects on the multifaceted tradition of
figuration and its ongoing relevance in contemporary art discourse.
Badertscher received her Master of Fine Arts from the National Art School in Sydney
in 2018. After several years in Australia, she returned to her hometown of Zurich in
2019. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, most recently at
Beyond the Closet (Anggrek Agency, Zurich, 2025), Einsichten 2024 (Kupper
Modern, Zurich), as part of the Zurich Art Weekend (Sihlquai 253), and in the duo exhibition Radi Kahlo and Laura Badertscher at MATERIAL, Zurich. In 2023, she
presented her solo exhibition FRESH at Kabinett Visarte Zurich.
In 2019, she was a finalist in the Naked & Nude Art Prize Exhibition in Australia. In
2021, she received a grant from the Fondazione Silene Giannini, and one of her
works was acquired by the Historisches Museum Baden.
Badertscher lives and works in Zurich. (Text: Isabel Balzer | seeyounexttuesday.ch)
CV
EXHIBITIONS
2025
Staged for Elsewhere | An exhibition by Nici Jost & Laura Badertscher, curated by Isabel Balzer @ Villa de Sein, Zurich
Beyond the Closet : exploring male nudity in contemporary art, Anggrek Agency, Zurich
2024
Einsichten 2024, VISARTE annual show at Kupper Modern, Zurich
Radi Kahlo & Laura Badertscher, MATERIAL, Zurich
Zurich Art Weekend, Exhibition at Sihlquai 253, Zurich
Villa de Sein, Zurich
Werkdiskurs & Auktion, Sihlquai 253, Zurich
2023
Einsichten 2023, VISARTE end of year show at Photobastei, Zurich
Art Market with a-space gallery, Budapest
ReA! Art Fair, Milano, Italy
"FRESH" at Kabinett Visarte Zürich (Solo Show), Switzerland
Werkdiskurs & Auktion, Sihlquai 253, Zurich CH
WHATZ International Contemporary Art Fair Exhibition with a-space, Taipei, Taiwan
2022
Kunst Take Away, Kunstraum Baden, Baden
Incognito Art Show, Sydney
James & Friends, Ambush Gallery, Sydney
2021
Grosse Regionale, *ALTEFABRIK/Kunstzeughaus, Rapperswil-Jona
Supermarket, Galerie Mayhaus, Erlach
‘(re)arrangements’, Grace Cossington Smith Gallery, Sydney
2020
‘Fresh From Zurich’, Kulturhaus Helferei, Zurich
Badekult. Von der Kur zum Lifestyle, Historisches Museum Baden, Baden
2019
The Blooming Christmas Show, Robin Gibson Gallery, Sydney
Group Show at ArtShowRoom Q37, Rheinfelden
From Switzerland With Love (Solo Show), Robin Gibson Gallery, Sydney
Art Market Budapest with a-space Gallery, Budapest
Naked & Nude Art Prize Finalist Exhibition, Manning Regional Gallery, Taree
1919 salon, Galerie pompom, Sydney
New Now, Robin Gibson Gallery, Sydney
2018
Postgraduate exhibition, National Art School, Sydney
Wallpop.art, Liverpool Street Gallery, Sydney
2017
Wallpop.art, Liverpool Street Gallery, Sydney
Candour of Doubt, Scratch Art Space, Sydney
2016
Graduate Exhibition, National Art School, Sydney
Imitation Green Cordial, Library Stairwell Gallery NAS, Sydney
Small Works, Brunswick Street Gallery, Melbourne
Breakthrough Festival, aMBUSH Gallery, Sydney
2015
Landscape Exhibition, Rayner Hoff Studio, National Art School, Sydney
2013
BROKE, Oddfellows Hall, Balmain
Nachtbetrieb, Bar Rossi, Zurich
2012
Playful Pop-up: StartledArt, The Space, Manly
POP Gallery, Stocklands, Forster
Out of the Box, Great Lakes Art & Design School, Tuncurry
Winner Sydney Water Design Award, Powerhouse Museum, Sydney
EDUCATION
2018 Master of Fine Art, National Art School, Darlinghurst, Australia
2016 Bachelor of Fine Arts, National Art School, Darlinghurst, Australia
2014 Bachelor of Fine Arts (Exchange Semester) Zurich University of the Arts, Switzerland
COLLECTIONS & PRIZES
Winner Artsted Grant at REA Art Fair Milano (2023), Grant Fondazione Silene Giannini (2022), Collection Historisches Museum Baden (2021), Finalist Naked & Nude Art Prize (2020), Winner Sydney Water Design Award (2013), Private Collections in Australia, Switzerland, Italy, Spain and Germany