Paul Paillet is a visual artist whose practice spans installation, sculpture, embossed paper works, and assemblage. Rooted in autobiographical fragments, his work explores the intersections between intimacy and collective experience, weaving together references to addiction, popular culture, spirituality, domestic space, and the mechanisms of contemporary capitalism.
Through handcrafted techniques such as casting, embossing, ceramics, and the use of recuperated materials, Paul Paillet develops layered environments in which objects and symbols oscillate between attraction and disillusionment. His works often evoke states of emotional suspension, fragility, and dependence, while confronting themes such as desire, immobility, consumerism, and social alienation. Literary, cinematic, and musical references — ranging from Hermann Hesse to Buffy the Vampire Slayer and BTS — coexist within installations that blur the boundaries between personal memory and broader cultural narratives.
Among his notable exhibitions are Swiss Art Awards 2025 in Basel, where he received the Swiss Art Award, Araucaria at Pauline Perplexe in Arcueil, Paths of Desire Pass Through Chaos at Villa Bernasconi in Geneva, Fantasy at Salle Crosnier in Geneva, and Fascination for Fire at the Centre d’Édition Contemporaine in Geneva. In 2017, he was also laureate of the Mécènes du Sud prize in Marseille, and previously received the Prix Jeunes Talents Côte d’Or in 2013.
Paul Paillet has also participated in numerous group exhibitions and international projects in Switzerland, France, the United Kingdom, and the United States, including presentations at Pace Gallery in New York, and various independent art spaces in Geneva, Marseille, Paris, and London.
Born in Dijon (FR) in 1986, Paul Paillet lives and works in Geneva (CH).