Silvie Defraoui

Silvie Defraoui is a visual artist born in St. Gallen in 1935.

Biography
Silvie Defraoui spent her childhood in St. Gallen and in Grisons. She first studied painting at the l’école des Beaux-Arts d’Alger and later ceramics at the l’école des Arts décoratifs de Genève. Between 1975 and 1994 she worked together with Chérif Defraoui (Geneva 1932–1994). From 1974 to 1999 she taught at the l'Ecole supérieure d'art visuel de Genève (today the Geneva School of Art and Design), where in 1975 she established together with Chérif Defraoui, the Mixed Media Studio.

Solo exhibitions (selection)

 * 1979, Cartographie des contrées à venir, Soares dos Reis National Museum, Porto
 * 1989, Orient/Occident, Centre d’Art Contemporain Genève / Musée Rath, Geneva.
 * 1993, Les origines de la description, Le Magasin - Centre National d'Art Contemporain, Grenoble.
 * 1996, Bruits de surface, Mamco, Musée d'art moderne et contemporain, Geneva
 * 2000, Nacht und Tag und Nacht, Helmhaus, Zurich
 * 2004–2005, Archives du futur, Kunstmuseum St. Gallen; Mamco, Musée d'art moderne et contemporain, Geneva
 * 2009, Sombras electricas, Centre Culturel Suisse, Paris

Group exhibitions (selection)

 * 1976, Venice Biennial
 * 1979, Photography as art, art as photography II und III, Gesamthochschule Kassel
 * 1981, Ils se disent peintres, ils se disent photographes, Musée d’Art Moderne, Paris
 * 1992, La Fontaine du désir, documenta IX, Kassel
 * 1997, Magie der Zahl, Staatsgalerie Stuttgart
 * 1998, Freie Sicht aufs Mittelmeer, Kunsthaus, Zurich

Awards

 * 2006, Kulturpreis of the City of St. Gallen

Publications

 * Kihm, Christophe; Vögele, Christoph (2014). Silvie Defraoui. Und überdies Projektionen (Archives du futur). Zürich: Edition Fink. p. 96. ISBN 9783037461815.
 * Bitterli, Konrad, editor (2004). Defraoui : archives du futur 1975 - 2004. Nürnberg: Verlag für Moderne Kunst. p. 248. ISBN 9783936711325.