Michèle ElsenerBorn 1971. Preliminary course at Kunstgewerbeschule St. Gallen, then designer of industrial embroidery and props manager at Stadttheater St. Gallen.
Twelve years work at the art foundry Kunstgiesserei Felix Lehner in St. Gallen, where she was, together with Martin Hansen, a prime mover for the growth and success of the firm. Continuous study and practice in sculpture and metal work (engraving, welding, etc). Her understanding of the artists' intention, attention to detail and manual skill have won her the confidence of many well-known artists: Among others, she has done plastic work in wax, plaster or synthetic material etc. for Markus Daum, Alex Hanimann, Hansruedi Giger, Franziska Koch, Ugo Rondinone, Andro Wekua.
Responsibility: production, especially of delicate three-dimensional works.
Martin HansenBorn 1964. Apprenticeship as art founder, then twenty years of work in various art foundries (Kunst- und Glockengiesserei Aarau, Bellform Zug, Kunstgiesserei Felix Lehner St. Gallen). Extensive experience in the planning of complex production processes and coordination with exterior partners for three-dimensional realizations. Has worked with prominent artists like Stephan Banz, com&com, Urs Fischer, Fischli/Weiss, Peter Regli.
Responsibility: production, focused on pricing, contacts with partner firms, database management.
Annina ZimmermannBorn 1967. Studied art history at the universities of Bern and Basel and completed the international Master Course in Art Management at the Hogeschool van den Kunsten Utrecht NL. Work at Museum für Gegenwartskunst Basel, Art Basel, plug.in art and new media, Hochschule für Gestaltung und Kunst Basel.
Since 2000 free-lance curator and writer, collaborating with artists, foundations, galleries, museums, art fairs, publishers, audiovisual producers. Participating in programming Basel's city gallery Ausstellungsraum Klingental, founding member of the Kulturbüro Basel and of ARTas foundation for peace.
Responsibility: contacts, administration, finance.
Sven MumenthalerBorn 1976. Apprenticeship as technical model constructor at Blatter Modellbau AG. Worked for 8 years in product development at Vitra AG, at the end as teamleader in the department for model construction. Built prototypes for architects and designers (e.g. Ewan and Ronan Bouroullec, Antonio Citterio, Hella Jongerius, Alberto Meda, Philippe Starck) from the first idea until formal and functional readiness for serial production. Sven joined our team in January 2007.
Raphaël SchmidBorn 1985. Apprenticeship as art founder at Glocken- und Kunstgiesserei H. Rüetschi AG in Aarau, Switzerland; diploma 2005. Started working at Kunstbetrieb in January 2008.
Jürg BaderBorn 1982. Preliminary course at Schule für Gestaltung Bern, apprenticeship as cabinet maker at Lauclair AG in Schüpfen, professional maturity, then studies at Fachhochschule Nordwestschweiz, Institute IN3 (today IIS), graduating in 2008 with a BA in interior design and scenography. As part of the project KASBAH - guesthouses for documenta XII he built a tree tent from aluminum and used surfing sails and was invited for a guest semester at Kassel's art academy. Joined Kunstbetrieb in October 2008.
Peter GerberBorn 1945. Apprenticeship in steel casting at Georg Fischer in Schaffhausen, followed by the master school. For many years Peter Gerber was a corporate consultant for foundries in Iran, Poland, Italy and Germany, later the director of a German steel casting foundry and an iron foundry in Switzerland. In 2001 he acquired the art foundry Bloch in Lausen BL. In 2008 Peter Gerber handed the inventory of this successful small business over to Kunstbetrieb, where he worked as a member of the team until his retirement in June 2010.
Rita PrevotBorn 1982. After training as a painter, Rita worked for a shop supplying professional painters, in the meantime completing her professional maturity (creative branch of study). She followed the preliminary course at the Academy of Lucerne (today HSLU) and in 2009 gained a BA in restoring modern materials and media at the School of Arts in Bern. Rita started working at Kunstbetrieb in April 2010 and continues studying for her master diploma in Berne.
Dimitri WagnerBorn 1990. After obtaining his diploma as a carpenter, Dimitri Wagner followed a one-year preparatory class at the school of design in Basel and started work at Kunstbetrieb in Oktober 2010.
Toya SchmidBorn 1986. Graduated as a Bachelor of Arts in Industrial Design at the HGK / Fachhochschule Nordwestschweiz with her diploma project Kuben (Cubes) in summer 2010 before taking up work at Kunstbetrieb in October 2010. In April 2012 she starts cooking wholesome lunch 2 days a week.
Christoph HunzBorn 1986. Became a member of Kunstbetrieb's team in March 2011, after successfully completing his apprenticeship as a stone sculptur at Mesmer Bildhaueratelier in Muttenz, Switzerland.
Julia PfistererBorn 1984. After the one-year preparatory class at the school of design in Basel, Julia became an apprentice goldsmith for four years. While working in Zurich, she pursued her professional maturity, then took a Bachelor of Arts degree in Industrial Design at the at the HGK / Fachhochschule Nordwestschweiz with her diploma project Level (in cooperation with Nino Scheidegger). After an internship of six month with Aroma ID in Frankfurt, she took a position with Kunstbetrieb in March 2011.
Born 1971. Three years of training at a school of embroidery in Pazarcik, Turkey. Since April 2011, Elif takes care not only of her own three children, but also of Kunstbetrieb's laundry and general cleanliness.
Roland RamseierBorn 1982. Successfully completed four years of apprenticeship as metal worker at Marbet Metallbau before engaging with different companies in Davos and the region of Berne and Olten both in steel and aluminum construction and custom-built machinery for seven years. Designing furniture in his free-time. Roland joined the team of Kunstbetrieb in Mai 2011.
Albrecht GüttlerBorn 1981. After training as a stonemason in Dresden for three years, Albrecht added a fourth year of apprenticeship as a stone sculptor in South Tirol. Between 2008 and 2010 he visited the Friedrich-Weinbrenner-Gewerbeschule in Freiburg, Germany, where he graduated as a master craftsman and technician. Working for different stonesculptors and on his own commissions, he contributed among other projects to the rebuilding of the Frauenkirche in Dresden. Albrecht joined Kunstbetrieb in October 2011.
Dimitri RüfenachtBorn 1983. After his apprenticeship of four years training as a metal worker, Dimitri taught himself to sew hot-air balloons as an intern in a specialized company in Vermont, USA. For three years each, he was employed at "Wohnort" for selected metalwork and furniture building in Wynigen and at Michel Apparatebau (welding both tig and mig). 2005 Dimitri produced the first Swiss experimental balloon and in 2007 set up his workshop for large scale sewing in Wangen an der Aare. He joined the team of Kunstbetrieb in October 2011.
Svenja HeldBorn 1981. Studied art history and german literature in Basel and Hamburg. After her graduation at the University of Basel she worked as a curatorial assistant at Kunstmuseum Basel, Museum für Gegenwartskunst. She joined the team in December 2011 for administration and communication, working 3 days a week.
Felix GutwenigerBorn 1965. Apprenticeship as cabinet maker. He worked for 25 years at the art foundry Bellform, Neuheim/Zug, where he gained a lot of experience in modeling, wax and metal work. In January 2012 he and Urs Signer joined our team, founding Kunstbetrieb's branch in Wädenswil/Zurich.
Urs SignerBorn 1966. Apprenticeship and experience as construction draftsman, before starting his apprenticeship as stone sculptor in 1990 with Rolf Groenquist. For 17 years he worked for the art foundry Bellform, Neuheim/Zug. He also tought stone sculpture workshops and works as a freelance stonesculptor. In January 2012 he and Felix Gutweniger joined our team, founding Kunstbetrieb's branch in Wädenswil/Zurich.
Anna GwerderBorn 1984. Cooks delicious lunch for the team since May 2011. After travelling in Asia for several months she is back at Kunstbetrieb since June 2012, cooking 3 days a week.
Tobias SchläfliBorn 1976. After the apprenticeship and some years working as a dental technician he studied Music and Media Arts at Bern University oft the Arts from 2007 to 2010. He worked for Plattfon and Kulturbüro Basel. Tobias composes music for radioplays and other broadcasts and is a member of the band Leech. Since September 2012 he works part-time at Kunstbetrieb.
Most images are taken by the staff. Special thanks to Nic Bezemer, Marcel Hollenstein and Paul Johnson (for their support), Margaret Daly and Christophe Richet (for some of the photos), Andrea Saemann (book-keeping), Reto Straumann of Straumann Treuhand AG (auditing).