[...] His public installations have an almost oxymoronic quality as they interfere yet also seamlessly integrate within their environment. [...]
[...] My works are often restrained, unobtrusive and directly embedded in a landscape – the interventions would not be readable without a specific surrounding. So it is always about dialogue, the positioning, interaction and what could possibly come out of these situations. This forces the viewer to perceive the environment from a new perspective. Generally I would like to underline that I am interested in astonishment and amazement. For a few seconds the viewer has to step out of his daily routine, he has to forget what is happening around him…this is one valuable service art can do! [...]
Interview Nicolas Vionnet
[...] The medium suddenly no longer stood in the foreground. Rather, in my research I consistently started from the location itself. What kind of story does a place have, what function does it have in everyday life and how is it used by people?
These and similar questions led me, at the beginning of a project, to have no idea what materials I would eventually be working with. So I sometimes surprised myself and created works that were almost alien to me; this was a refreshing experience. [...]
Interview, Nicolas Vionnet
[...] The idea of C'era una volta il West is linked to a childhood memory. I already liked these flute kettles as a child and somehow found them incredibly funny. I always found it surprising that the kettles do not just give off a simple acoustic signal but produce very individual sounds...as if they are singing. When I had the idea to do a work with flute kettles two years ago, I was especially interested in the fusion of the sounds. It immediately reminded me of a dialogue. Like a conversation between two people, there are moments where the dialogue is harmonious, but also moments where a tension suddenly may arise. [...]
Interview, Nicolas Vionnet
[...] For the mentioned work Aus Versehen I installed a coin operated telescope on a beautiful square in front of an old lime tree in the heart of the old town in Zurich. Of course one does not find telescopes in the middle of a city and also not so close to an object that you no longer can observe. However, passersby were confused and did not know whether this is a joke. Actually, most of them used the telescope and examined the lime tree as if under a microscope. [...]
Interview Nicolas Vionnet
[...] In contemporary art, restraint can also be understood as a form of resistance—a deliberate choice against the overproduction and rapid consumption of images. Earlier in our conversation, we discussed the threshold between art and non-art. In this context, the gesture of restraint presents a challenge to viewers: it invites them to pause, to look more closely, and opens a quiet, inwardly focused dialogue. [...]
Interview, Nicolas Vionnet
