marytwo is over the moon to open the first Swiss solo exhibition by Salomé Engel titled From Cowboy to Cobaye. Engel (*1999 in Paris, FR) completed her BA in Visual Arts at ECAL in Lausanne and her MA in Fine Arts at HEAD in Geneva in 2024. Her new work is on show from the 3rd of May through 7th of June 2025 at marytwo.
The following is an excerpt from the exhibition written by Charly Mirambeau, a long-time friend of the artist.
[…] From the outset, it’s a matter of language: From Cowboy to Cobaye encapsulates, in my view, the main propositions of this exhibition. Like a linguistic precept lost in translation, it is the almost etymological relationships we have with appearances that interest Salomé Engel. Through the stumbling blocks of double meanings, a sense of a disturbed relationship to reality emerges. From Cowboy to Cobaye stems from this transformative state, linked to the original professions of astronauts on space missions. Initially fighter pilots, the space cowboys were tasked with exploring the unknown.
(Translated from French)
Featured on
Contemporary Art Switzerland
Daily Lazy
(FR) Texte de l’exposition par Charly Mirambeau, plan de l’exposition
(EN) Exhibition text by Charly Mirambeau, floor plan
(DE) Ausstellungstext von Charly Mirambeau, Saalplan
Salomé Engel
Hearts Crushed Pretty Early Tonight (HCPET), 2025
Acrylic, bitumen, reflective road marking paint, glitter on canvas
181 × 202 cm
Salomé Engel
Hearts Crushed Pretty Early Tonight (HCPET) (detail), 2025
Acrylic, bitumen, reflective road marking paint, glitter on canvas
181 × 202 cm
Salomé Engel
Needles: Insinuation of Sailing Motes II (detail), 2025
Metal debris, wood, laquer, coloured sand
834 × 66 × 26 cm
Salomé Engel
Needles: Insinuation of Sailing Motes II (detail), 2025
Metal debris, wood, laquer, coloured sand
834 × 66 × 26 cm
Salomé Engel
Needles: Insinuation of Sailing Motes I (detail), 2025
Metal debris, wood, laquer, coloured sand
1028 × 60 × 23 cm
Salomé Engel
Needles: Insinuation of Sailing Motes I (detail), 2025
Metal debris, wood, laquer, coloured sand
1028 × 60 × 23 cm
Salomé Engel
Needles: Insinuation of Sailing Motes I (detail), 2025
Metal debris, wood, laquer, coloured sand
1028 × 60 × 23 cm
Salomé Engel
Heroic Conspiracies Promised Epic Tales (HCPET), 2025
Acrylic, bitumen, reflective road marking paint, glitter on canvas
174 × 131 cm
Salomé Engel
Heroic Conspiracies Promised Epic Tales (HCPET) (detail), 2025
Acrylic, bitumen, reflective road marking paint, glitter on canvas
174 × 131 cm
Salomé Engel
Hot Comedy Per Every Task (HCPET), 2025
Acrylic, bitumen, reflective road marking paint, glitter on canvas
135 × 90 cm
Salomé Engel
Hot Comedy Per Every Task (HCPET), 2025
Acrylic, bitumen, reflective road marking paint, glitter on canvas
135 × 90 cm
