Not Vital's art is inspired by his nomadic lifestyle and experiences of travelling the globe, reflecting on habitations, nature and animals, and on the relationships between sculpture and architecture. Exploring the boundaries between abstract and figurative forms, his work is marked by a particularly intimate relationship with materials, including plaster, steel, marble, ceramic and organic matter. He often collaborates with skilled craftsmen around the world, ranging from Beijing steel-chasers and Murano glass-blowers, to Tuareg silversmiths and Bhutan papermakers. The physicality of his approach, combined with an innate understanding of his chosen materials' essential properties, results in visually challenging works that are often destabilising in their striking scale and presence.
To better define his recent large-scale structures, in 2009 Vital coined the term 'SCARCH' – a conflation of sculpture and architecture. Central to his work is an exploration of the spatial, economic and cultural contexts of homes and workplaces. Driven by an impulse to build shelters that he traces back to childhood, he has constructed responsive habitats that are integrated into the communities in which they are built. Intimately connected with the rhythms of nature, his Houses to Watch the Sunset represent 'an invitation to dream' and reflect the extraordinary qualities of their surroundings, while also giving work to local people. As with all his works, these are constructed with formal rigour and a Minimalist aesthetic: 'you can't add or subtract anything […] It's complete in itself. It is what it is. You couldn't even take one step away without diminishing it.'
Born in 1948 in Sent, Switzerland, Vital lives and works between his hometown, Beijing and Rio de Janeiro. He grew up among the mountains and forests in the Engadin valley near the border of Switzerland, Austria and Italy, but has spent much of his time travelling and living in places including China, Niger, Italy, Indonesia and the USA. He studied visual arts at the Université Expérimentale de Vincennes, Paris from 1968–71 and moved to New York in 1974, where he began his artistic career. In 2003, Vital established a foundation in Ardez, a small historic village in the Engadin, with the aim of preserving the cultural assets of the valley and creating a local sculpture park. Over the course of his career, he has realised many buildings for contemplation all over the world, including the NotOna Tunnel on NotOna Island (2009) in Patagonia, Chile.
Vital’s work has been featured in numerous international exhibitions, including the 49th Venice Biennale (2001), curated by Harald Szeemann, and the 17th International Architecture Biennale (2021). He is one of the few artists to have exhibited his work in both the Art and the Architecture Biennale. Major solo exhibitions were held at Kunsthalle Bielefeld, Germany (2005); the Arts Club of Chicago (2006); UCCA Center for Contemporary Art, Beijing (2011); and the Museo d'arte Mendrisio, Switzerland (2014–15). In 2013, the large-scale installation 700 Snowballs was on view on the island of San Giorgio Maggiore in Venice. His first major UK exhibition and his largest museum project to date was held at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park in 2016, followed by his first institutional project in Austria at the Museum der Moderne, Salzburg in 2020–21.
2024
Contemplating, Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Paris Marais, France
2022
Not Vital: Fine Fain, Stalla Madulain, Madulain, Switzerland
Not Vital: A vida é um detalhe, Nara Roesler, São Paulo, Brazil
Not Vital: Ad agosto ritornano le rondini, Alfonso Artiaco, Naples, Italy
Not Vital: 十幅画 10 Paintings, Galerie Urs Meile, Beijing, China
Not Vital: Paintings, Thaddaeus Ropac, Salzburg, Austria
2021
Not Vital: 88 & 8 & 8, Wilde, Geneva, Switzerland
Not Vital: snow & water & ice, Alma Zevi, Venice, Italy
Not Vital, Museum Langmatt, Baden, Switzerland
Not Vital: SCARCH, Abbazia di San Giorgio Maggiore, Venice, Italy
Not Vital: Paintings, Thaddaeus Ropac, London, UK
2020
Not Vital: Ir, Museum der Moderne, Salzburg, Austria
SCARCH, Hauser & Wirth Somerset, Bruton, UK
2019
Not Vital. Bun di Basel, Wilde, Basel, Switzerland
Let One Hundred Flowers Bloom, Galerie Andrea Caratsch, St Moritz, Switzerland
Not Vital. Che fasch?, Galerie Urs Meile, Lucerne, Switzerland
2018
NOT VITAL, Galerie Kornfeld, Bern, Switzerland
NOT VITAL, Ateneum, Helsinki, Finland
NOT VITAL. Keramik, Galerie Luciano Fasciati, Chur, Switzerland
Not Vital. Saudade, Galeria Nara Roesler, São Paulo, Brazil
2017
Not Vital: David & Goliath, Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Salzburg, Austria
Not Vital: Bronzes, 107, S-chanf, Switzerland
Poles, Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Pantin, France
Not Vital, Galerie Forsblom, Stockholm, Sweden
Not Vital: Naiv, Galerie Tschudi, Zuoz, Switzerland
SPLIT. Mirror, Light. Reflection, Schauwerk Sindelfingen, Sindelfingen, Germany
Not Vital: Bronzes, 107, S-chanf, Switzerland
Not Vital: Univers privat, Bündner Kunstmuseum Chur, Chur, Switzerland
NOT VITAL in STALLA, Stalla Madulain, Madulain, Switzerland
2016
Not Vital, Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Wakefield, UK
12+2+1, Art Bärtschi & Cie, Geneva, Switzerland
Vital Sculptures, Galerie Forsblom, Helsinki, Finland
Muntognas, Ordovas, London, UK
2015
Not Vital: Bellaval, Kloster Schoenthal, Langenbruck, Switzerland
Not Vital: 700 Snowballs, Galerie Andrea Caratsch, Saint Moritz, Switzerland
Not Vital, Paço Imperial, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Not Vital. Esculturas & desenhos, Galeria Nara Roesler, São Paulo, Brazil
Not Vital e Laura Bott, Chasa Jaura Museum, Val Müstair, Switzerland
2014
Tanter, Cabinet d'Arts Graphiques, Musées d'Art et d'Histoire, Geneva, Switzerland
Not Vital, Galería Patricia Ready, Santiago, Chile
Allende by Not Vital, Ejercicios Mosqueto, Santiago, Chile
Heads, Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Paris, France
Not Vital: Skulptur 1986 – 2011, Galerie Andrea Caratsch, Saint Moritz, Switzerland
The Drawing Show: Not Vital “Snow", Akira Ikeda Gallery, New York, NY, USA
NOT VITAL: PIZ, Gian Enzo Sperone – Chasa dal Guvernatur, Sent, Switzerland
Everton, Sperone Westwater, New York, NY, USA
Il pavimento della cucina di mia nonna, Museo d’Arte di Mendrisio, Mendrisio, Switzerland
2013
Guarda, Galerie Urs Meile, Beijing, China
Not Vital: Landscapes, Ben Brown Fine Arts, Hong Kong, China
Not Vital: 700 Snowballs, Isola di San Giorgio Maggiore, Venice, Italy
2012
Not Vital: 十 五, Sperone Westwater, New York, NY, USA
Let One Hundred Flowers Bloom, Kunstraum Dornbirn, Dornbirn, Austria
Not Vital: Werke 1989 bis 2011, Schauwerk Sindelfingen, Sindelfingen, Germany
Not Vital: Œuvres sur papier, Galerie Guy Bärtschi, Geneva, Switzerland
5 Spaniards & Nothing, Ivorypress Space, Madrid, Spain
2011
Sculptures: Diao Su, Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Paris, France
Not Vital: Full On, Ullens Centre of Contemporary Art, Beijing, China
Haare, Hirsch & Mao, Galerie Nordenhake, Berlin, Germany
Art & Architecture Projekt 2011: No Problem Sculpture, Art Forum Ute Barth, Zürich, Switzerland
Hanging & Waiting, Almine Rech Gallery, Brussels, Belgium
Plasters, Akira Ikeda, Tokyo, Japan
Not Vital: Opere Grafiche, Villa Garbald, Castasegna, Switzerland
2010
Suicides, Ben Brown Fine Arts, London, UK
Places in the World, Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Paris, France.
Modell für Schlafendes Haus, Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac Editions, Salzburg, Austria
Not Vital. dirigerer, Steven Vail Fine Arts Projects Room, Des Moines, Iowa, USA
Not Vital, La Punt, Switzerland
2009
NOT WHY, Gaerlie Urs Meile, Beijing-Lucerne, Beijing, China
Schlafendes Haus, Kunsthalle Wien, Vienna, Austria
Pelvis, Galerie Luciano Fasciati, Chur, Switzerland
2008
Tongue, Galerie Urs Meile, Beijing, China
Let One Hundred Flowers Bloom, Currents – Art and Music, Beijing, China
10 Austrians and More, Galerie Thaddeus Ropac, Salzburg, Austria
2007
Punts, Galerie Luciano Fasciati, Chur, Switzerland
Lotus, Coffee and Stone Pine, Portraits, Snow and Boyfriend, Sperone Westwater, New York, NY, USA
Hearts, Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Salzburg, Austria
300 palle di neve, Museo Cantonale d’Arte, Lugano, Switzerland
2006
The Arts Club of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA
(bap, mamma, eu) mit Alberto Sorbelli, Galerie Guy Bärtschi, Geneva, Switzerland
Nietzsches Schnauz, Zeichnungen, Nietzsche Haus, Sils Maria, Switzerland
2005
Agadez, Kunsthalle Bielefeld, Bielefeld, Germany
New Sculpture, Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Paris, France
Agadez, Albion Gallery, London, UK
New Sculpture, Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Salzburg, Austria
2004
Sperone Westwater, New York, NY, USA
Milla larmas id ün chamel, Galerie Nordenhake, Berlin, Germany
300 Camels, Central House of Artists, Moscow, Russia
Caratsch de Pury & Luxembourg, Zürich, Switzerland
2003
Chasa Jaura Valchava, Valchava, Switzerland
Balthasar Burkhard, Not Vital, Galerie Tschudi, Zuoz, Switzerland
FAT ES FAT, Museo Cantonale d’Arte, Lugano, Switzerland
2002
Not Vital: Mias Muntognas, Edith Wahlandt Galerie, Stuttgart, Germany
Vital, Galerie Guy Bärtschi, Geneva, Switzerland
Skulpturen, Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Salzburg, Austria
FAT ES FAT, Museum zu Allerheiligen Schaffhausen, Sturzenegger Stiftung, Schaffhausen, Switzerland
FAT ES FAT, Kunsthalle Göppingen, Göppingen, Germany
2001
Skulpturen, Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Salzburg, Austria
Sculptures récentes, Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Paris, France
New Sculpture, de Pury & Luxembourg, Zürich, Switzerland
Voglio vedere le mie montagne, Galleria Cardi, Milan, Italy
49th International Art Exhibition Venice Bienniale, Venice, Italy
2000
Meine Schafe, Galerie Luciano Fasciati, Chur, Switzerland
Nils Stark Galerie, Copenhagen, Denmark
1999
Snowballs, Baron/Boisanté, New York, NY, USA
Sperone Westwater, New York, NY, USA
1998
Skulputrer Och Teckniingar, Galerie Nordenhake, Stockholm, Sweden
Nototo, 1000 Eventi, Milan, Italy
1997
Large Works on Paper, Baron/Boisanté, New York, NY, USA
Totem Und Tabu, Kunsthalle Bielefeld, Bielefeld, Germany
Sperone Westwater, New York, NY, USA
Not Vital, Malmö Konsthall, Malmö, Sweden
1996
Schoppa, Galerie Luciano Fasciati, Chur, Switzerland
Preschentaziun dal Nuov Cudesch, Gallaria D'Art Center Augustin, Scuol, Switzerland
1995
Not Vital, 1000 Eventi, Turin, Italy
Galleria Gian Enzo Sperone, Rome, Italy
Sculpture, Sperone Westwater, New York, NY, USA
Galerie Lehmann, Lausanne, Switzerland
1994
Not Vital: Skulpturen Zeichnungen Druckgraphik, Galerie Edith Wahlandt, Stuttgart, Germany
Mendelson Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Berggruen & Zevi Limited, London, UK
Kunsthalle Basel, Basel, Switzerland
1993
Adam, One Afternoon, Baron/Boisanté, New York, NY, USA
Gallerie Lehmann, Lausanne, Switzerland
Gallaria D'Art Center Augustin, Scuol, Switzerland
Cow Dung, New Bronze Works, Wooster Gardens, New York, NY, USA
Galerie Niels Ewerbeck, Vienna, Austria
Kunsthalle, Basel, Switzerland
1992
Sculture Recenti, Studio Guenzani, Milan, Italy
Cacche Di Mucca, Via Farini Galleria, Milan, Italy
Kunsthandlung Luciano Fasciati, Chur, Switzerland
Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Salzburg, Austria
1991
Not Vital - Photographs by Florio Puenter, Galerie Luciano Fasciati, Chur, Switzerland
The Complete Prints and Multiples, Bündner Kunstmuseum, Chur, Switzerland
Not Vital: The Complete Prints and Multiples, Baron/Boisanté Gallery, New York, NY, USA
Auf Mist wachsen Blumen, Galerie Thaddeus Ropac, Salzburg, Austria
1990
PS Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
El Maktoub Maktoub, Baron/Boisanté Gallery, New York, NY, USA
Curt Marcus Gallery, New York, NY, USA
Gallerie Ascan Crone, Hamburg, Germany
Prix BCG '90, Musée Rath, Geneva, Switzerland
1989
Akhnaton, Centre of Arts - Akhnaton Gallery, Zamalek, Cairo, Egypt
Not Vital: Dessins et sculptures, Centre Culturel Suisse, Paris, France
Not Vital: Sculptures and works on paper, Greenberg Gallery, St. Louis, MO, USA
Not Vital, Galerie Montenay, Paris, France
Not Vital, Baron/Boisanté Gallery, New York, NY, USA
1988
Not Vital, Curt Marcus Gallery, New York, NY, USA
Binz 39, Scuol, Switzerland
Plastiken und Zeichnungen, Kunstmuseum Luzern, Lucerne, Switzerland
Galerie Ascan Crone, Hamburg, Germany
Baron/Boisanté Gallery, New York, NY, USA
Works on Paper, Swiss Institute, New York, NY, USA
Studio Guenzani, Milan, Italy
Bronzen (1000 Kacke für ein Kindespital in Katmandu), Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Salzburg, Austria
1987
Rudolf Zwirner Galerie, Cologne, Germany
Gallery Nature Morte, New York, NY, USA
1986
Sculpture and Drawings, Margo Leavin Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Gallery Nature Morte, New York, NY, USA
Galleria Pinta, Genova, Switzerland
1985
Sculptures and Drawings, Willard Gallery, New York, NY, USA
Sculpturen en Tekeningen, Galerie Barbara Farber, Amsterdam, Netherlands
1984
Not Vital, Galerie Nature Morte, New York, USA
Ref. 84, Palud No. 1, Lausanne, Switzerland
Recent sculptures and drawings, Mendelson Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Plastiken und Zeichnungen, Galerie Hartmann, Saint Gallen, Switzerland
1983
Galerie Nature Morte, New York, NY, USA
Not Vital. Recent Drawings, Mendelson Gallery, Pittsburgh, USA
1982
Kunsthaus Glarus, Glarus, Switzerland
Not Vital: Zeichnungen und Objekte, Gimpel-Hanover and André Emmerich Galeries, Zürich, Switzerland
1981
Recent Drawings, Albert White Gallery, Toronto, Canada
Altstadt Gallerie, Chur, Switzerland
1980
Gimpel-Hanover and André Emmerich Galeries, Zürich, Switzerland
Mendelson Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
1979
Bündner Kunstmuseum Chur, Chur, Switzerland
1977
Städtische Galerie "Zum Strauhof", Zürich, Switzerland
1976
Bündner Kunstmuseum, Chur, Switzerland
Galerie Peter Noser, Zürich, Switzerland
1975
Galerie Peter Noser, Zürich, Switzerland
1974
Dritte Galerie, Zofingen, Switzerland
1973
Galleria LP 220, Turin, Italy
1972
Galleria Diagramma, Milan, Italy
1971
Bündner Kunstmuseum, Chur, Switzerland
Not Vital, Galleria Diagramma, Milan, Italy
Galleria LP 220, Turin, Italy
2023
High Five!, Fondation Opale, Lens, Switzerland
Home Game: 15 Years of the Sculpture Park, Skulpturenpark Waldfrieden, Wuppertal, Germany
1983 | 2023, Thaddaeus Ropac, Salzburg, Austria
Interstellar, in collaboration wit artgenève, Fondation Opale, Lens, Switzerland
Piero Crommelynck et la gravure, Dutko, Paris, France
Untiefen. Werke aus der Sammlung Schaufler, Schauwerk Sindelfingen, Sindelfingen, Germany
2022
Line Up, Galerie Tschudi, Zurich, Switzerland
Into the Wild, Wilde, Geneva, Switzerland
GODHEAD - Idols in Time of Crisis, Lustwarande, Tilburg, Netherlands
2021
JAHRESAUSSTELLUNG DER BÜNDNER KÜNSTLERINNEN UND KÜNSTLER, Bündner Kunstmuseum Chur, Chur, Switzerland
Body in Time. Antony Gormley, Tony Cragg, Marc Quinn, Charlie Sheard, Not Vital, Fosun Foundation, Shanghai, China
Rêves d’été en monochrome, Wilde, Geneva, Switzerland
Schweizer Skulptur seit 1945, Aargauer Kunsthaus, Aarau, Switzerland
Snapshot, Galerie Urs Meile, Beijing, China
Matières en lumière. Sculptures de Rodin à Louise Bourgeois, Musée cantonal des Beaux-Arts de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
2020
30 Years in Paris, Thaddeaus Ropac, Paris Pantin, France
At Sea, Viewing Room, David Zwirner
Seeing Touch, Hauser & Wirth, St. Moritz, Switzerland
Dance me to the end of love. Danse macabre, Bündner Kunstmuseum Chur, Chur, Switzerland
Shifting, Pop-up Art Parcours Ardez, Galerie Urs Meile, Ardez, Switzerland
Biennale Bregaglia 2020, Promontogno, Switzerland
2019
Begegnungen, Ein Kunstprojekt beim Rosenhuegel Chur, Chur, Switzerland
Passion. Bilder von der Jagd, Bündner Kunstmuseum Chur, Chur, Switzerland
LA LUCE ALPINA. Giovanni Segantini, Dove Allouche, Siegrun Appelt, Philippe Rahm, Patrick Rohner, Not Vital, Kunstmuseum St. Gallen, Saint Gallen, Switzerland
Der Grosse Schnee, Galerie Luciano Fasciati, Chur, Switzerland
Absolutely Tschudi, Galerie Tschudi, Zuoz, Switzerland
2018
WOW! The Heidi Horten Collection, Leopold Museum, Vienna, Austria
Basel Short Stories. From Erasmus to Iris von Roten. The Wanderer and his Shadow. Nietzsche in Basel, Kunstmuseum Basel, Switzerland
Wendepunkte. Von Nolde bis Oppenheim, ETH-Bibliothek, Graphische Sammlung, Zürich, Switzerland
IT COMES IN WAVES, Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Pantin, France
REFLECTION about about REFLECTION, Galerie Tschudi, Zuoz, Switzerland
COUNTERPOINT: Selections from The Peter Marino Collection, Southampton Arts Center, Southampton, NY, USA
Ausstellung Edition August 2018, Edition VFO, Zürich, Switzerland
Surrealism Switzerland, Aargauer Kunsthaus, Aarau, Switzerland
2017
Zeichnungen und Wandarbeiten, Galerie Luciano Fasciati, Chur, Switzerland
En Marche: faire un pas, c’est faire un choix, Le Pénitencier , Sion, Switzerland
Art of the Treasure Art, Chianti, Italy
Alpenglühn, Faessler &Ochsner GmbH, Zürich, Switzerland
Spot on Nairs. 30 Jahre Künstlerhaus, NAIRS – Zentrum für Gegenwartskunst, Scuol, Switzerland
2016
Nuove Consonanze: Opere dalle collezioni del museo, Museuo d’Arte della Svizzera Italiana, Lugano, Switzerland
Illumination, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebæk, Denmark
The City, Faraway, Le Frac Centre-Val de Loire, Orléans, France
Presently, Galerie Neugerriemschneider, Berlin, Germany
Aitor Ortiz - NotOna Island, Galerie Luciano Fasciati, Chur, Switzerland
Un percorso d'arte, Morcote, Switzerland
20 Jahre Hölderlinstrasse 55, Edith Wahlandt Galerie, Stuttgart, Germany
Where Does The Wind Blow, If There Is No Air?, Superespacio, Santiago, Chile
SPLIT. Mirror, Light, Reflection, Schauwerk Sindelfingen, Sindelfingen, Germany
2015
Space Age, Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Pantin, France
Muster, Modelle, Parodien. Friedrich Dürrenmatt, Gerhard Richter, Not Vital, Nietzsche-Haus, Sils Maria, Switzerland
Biennale Skulpturen Symposium, Wintherthur, Switzerland
PINK, Collezione Giancarlo e Danna Olgiati, Spazio -1, Lugano, Switzerland
Africa: Architecture, Culture And Identity, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebæk, Denmark
Simple Forms: Contemplating Beauty, Mori Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan
Signs/Words, Sperone Westwater, New York, NY, USA
30 YEARS: Artists of the Gallery, Galerie Tschudi, Zuoz, Switzerland
Words an images. Books beyond artists, Ivorypress Space, Madrid, Spain
Private view 2, Städtische Galerien, Villingen-Schwenningen
Not Vital e Laura Bott, Chasa Jaura Museum, Val Müstair, Switzerland
La Collezione. Confronti, Museo d'Arte, Mendrisio, Switzerland
2014
One Way: Peter Marino, Bass Museum of Art, Miami Beach, FL, USA
For your eyes only, Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice, Italy
Des Hommes et La Forêt, Château de Nyon, Nyon, Switzerland
Elevation 1049: Between Heaven and Hell, Gstaad Biennial, Gstaad, Switzerland
ALPENLIEBE, Kaiser Franz Josefs Höhe Centre, Heiligenblut am Großglockner, Carinthia & East Tyrol, Austria
Unterirdisch: Das Spektakel des Unsichtbaren, Museum für Gestaltung Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
Inhabiting the World, Busan Biennale 2014, Busan, South Korea
Mit Papier arbeiten, Edith Wahlandt Galerie Stuttgart, Germany
An inner dialogue. The contemporary self-portrait, Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Salzburg, Austria
Platform, Almine Rech Gallery, Brussels, Belgium
Bloodflames Revisited, Paul Kasmin Gallery, New York, USA
FOR YOUR EYES ONLY, Kunstmuseum Basel, Basel, Switzerland
M Home: Living in Space, Ullens Center for Contemporary Art, Beijing, China
2013
Uninhabitable Objects: Dwellings between Imagination and Reality, NAIRS – Zentrum für Gegenwartskunst, Scuol, Switzerland
Blickachsen 9: Contemporary Sculpture in Bad Homburg and Frankfurt/Rhein-Mai, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Uninhabitable Objects: Dwellings between Imagination and Reality, Bündner Kunstmuseum, Chur, Switzerland
Moving: Norman Foster on Art, Carré d'Art - Musée d'art contemporain, Nîmes, France
Not Vital, Dayanita Singh per la Biennale d'arte 2013, Giogio Mastinu Fien Art, Venice, Italy
Signs/Words, Sperone Westwater Lugano, Switzerland
L'adöver da l'art, NAIRS, Center da cultura NAIRS, Scuol, Switzerland
Secondo anno, Collezione Giancarlo e Danna Olgiati, Lugano, ,Switzerland
2012
Carpe Diem, Toyota Municipal Museum, Nagoya, Japan
Marble Sculpture from 350 B.C to last week, Sperone Westwater, New York, NY, USA
Art et Nature, Jardin du Havel, Saint Hymer, France
10 Years in the Engadin, Galerie Tschudi, Zuoz, Switzerland
Printin', Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY, USA
Säen, ernten, glücklich sein, Fontana Park Chur, Switzerland
White: Marble and Paint, From Antiquity to Now, Robilant + Veona, London, UK
Formungen, Galerie Luciano Fasciati, Chur, Switzerland
2011
Director’s Choice, Bünder Kunstmuseum, Chur, Switzerland
Idea and Object, Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Salzburg, Austria
Arp, Beckmann, Munch, Kirchner, Warhol … Classics in Bonn. The Unknown Collection from Bielefeld, Art and Exhibition Hall of the Federal Republic of Germany, Bonn, Germany
2010
25 Jahre Galerie Tschudi, Galerie Tschudi, Zürich, Switzerland.
Tuileries 2010 (part of FIAC Paris 2010), Paris, France
Zeichnungen. Disegns - ün museum subjectiv, NAIRS – Zentrum für Gegenwartskunst, Scuol, Switzerland
Director's Choice, Bündner Kunstmuseum, Chur, Switzerland
Idea and Object, Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Salzburg, Austria
2009
Fuentes (Artists and Their Inspirations), Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Salzburg, Austria
Fuentes (Non-European Influences on Contemporary Artists), Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Paris, France
Sculpture in Nature, Nature of Sculpture, Foundation De 11 Lijnen, Oudensburg, Belgium
In der Nacht, Galerie Luciano Fasciati, Chur, Switzerland
2008
Not Vital and Emil Lukas, Mendelson Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Blood on Paper, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK
Wunderkammer: A Century of Curiosities, Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY, USA
Am Nabel der Welt. Kunst aus Graubünden, Bündner Kunstmuseum, Chur, Switzerland
Kunst zum Mittag - Bildbetrachtungen für den leichten Hunger, Bündner Kunstmuseum, Chur, Switzerland
Zwischenlandung. Werke aus der Sammlung nationale suisse, Museum Franz Gertsch, Burgdorf, Switzerland
2007
25 Jahre Galerie Crone, Galerie Crone, Berlin, Germany
Exposures, the contemporary self-portrait, Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Salzburg, Austria
Von Tag zu Tag, Bündner Kunstmuseum Chur, Chur, Switzerland.
Contemporary Art on Paper, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
Collective One, Galerie Guy Bärtschi, Geneva, Switzerland
2006
Mountains, Fondation Beyeler, Basel, Switzerland
The Arts Club of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
Galerie Guy Bärtschi, Geneva, Switzerland
2005
Galerie Tschudi, Zuoz, Switzerland
2004
Caratsch de Pury & Luxembourg, Zürich, Switzerland
Sperone Westwater, New York, NY, USA
Galerie Nordenhake, Berlin, Germany
Alden Gallery, Moscow, Russia
New Tretiakov Gallery, Moscow, Russia
2003
Chasa Jaura, Valchava, Switzerland
Museo Cantonale d’Arte, Lugano, Switzerland
2002
Kunsthalle Göppingen, Göppingen, Germany
Museum zum Allerheiligen, Schaffhausen, Germany
2001
De Pury & Luxembourg, Zürich, Switzerland
Galleria Cardl & Co, Milan, Italy
Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Paris, France
Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Salzburg, Austria
2000
Nils StaerkGalerie, Copenhagen, Denmark
1999
Präsentation Zeitgenössischer Kunst, Bayrische Versicherungsbank AG, Unterföhring, Germany
Impressing The Body, University Gallery, Fine Arts Center, University Of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, USA
Magisches Rätisches Dreieck, Drei Künstler - Drei Positionen, Schloss Landeck, Landeck, Austria
Konnex Kairo, Kunst Museum Thun, Thun, Switzerland
1998
Zeitgenössische Skulptur, Europa-Afrika, 7. Triennale der Kleinplastik 1998, SüdwestLB Forum Stuttgart, Germany
Galleria Maria Cilena, Milan, Italy
1997
Objectivity, Contemporary Art Center Of Virginia, Virginia Beach, VA, USA
Animaux et animaux, Zeitgenössische Kunst und Zoologie, Museum zu Allerheiligen, Schaffhausen, Switzerland
Kunstverein Schaffhausen, Schaffhausen, Switzerland
Animals, Baron/Boisanté, New York, NY, USA
Schweizer Kunst, Auktionshaus Sotheby’s, Zürich, Switzerland
1996
The Material Imagination, Untitled, Guggenheim Museum Soho, New York, NY, USA
Projects, 3 New + 3 Old, Baron/Boisanté, New York, NY, USA
Thinking Print, Books to Billboards, 1980 - 1995, Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY, USA
Dissimilar & Unrelated Sculptures, Baron/Boisanté, New York, NY, USA
Übergänge: Kunst aus Graubünden 1936 - 1996, Bündner Kunstmuseum Chur, Chur, Switzerland
1995
(W) H O (W) ARE YOU?, Galerie Anhava, Helsinki, Finland
Show Of Sculpture, Sperone Westwater, New York, NY, USA
Selected Projects Of ’81 - ’95, Baron/Boisanté, New York, NY, USA
Schrift Im Bild, Galerie Luciano Fasciati, Chur, Switzerland
Beyond Switzerland - Works by Contemporary Swiss Artists, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong
1994
Drawing in Black and White, A Selection of Contemporary Works…, Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY, USA
A Century of Artists Books, Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY, USA
Art Cologne, Galerie Edith Wahlandt, Cologne, Germany
The Body Human, Nohra Haime Gallery, New York, NY, USA
Curtis Anderson and Not Vital, Baron/Boisanté, New York, NY, USA
Projekt Schweiz II, Natur - Kultur, Kunsthalle Basel, Basel, Switzerland
1993
Self - Evidence, Self-Portraits in Prints and Photographs, New York Public Library, New York, NY, USA
Across The River and Into The Trees, a Sculpture Show, The Rushmore Festival, Rushmore, MI, USA
Works On Paper, Baron/Boisanté, New York, NY, USA
1992
Drawn in the 90’s, The Katonah Museum of Art, Katonah, New York, NY, USA
Drawn in the 90’s, Indiana University Art Museum, Bloomington, IN, USA
Drawn in the 90’s, Kerr Gallery, Alberta College of Art, Alberta, Canada
Drawn in the 90’s, Hunstville Museum of Art, Hunstville, AL, USA; Exeter, NH, USA; San Diego, CA, USA; Lamont, WI, USA
Not Vital und Florio Puenter, Pinta Galleria, Geneva, Switzerland
Skulpturen Und Arbeiten Auf Papier, Galerie Nova Fredi Büchel, Pontresina, Switzerland
Donald Baechler, Michael Byron, Not Vital, Baron/Boisanté, New York, NY, USA
Works On Paper, Baron/Boisanté, New York, NY, USA
1991
Druckgraphik & Multiples, Bündner Kunstmuseum Chur, Chur, Switzerland
Skulpturen - Bilder - Grafiken, Galerie Nova, Pontresina, Switzerland
Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Salzburg, Austria
1990
Bündner Kunstmuseum Chur, Chur, Switzerland
The First Five Years, The Kaldewey Press At Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA
1989
La Suisse Romanche Vue Par Iso Camartin, Centre Culturel Suisse, Paris, France
Reflets Contemporains d’une Collection, Musée Pulliérane, Pully, Switzerland
Reflets Contemporains d’une Collection, Musée des beaux-arts, Locle, Switzerland
Projects and Portfolios, Brooklyn Museum, New York, NY, USA
Monochrome, Barbara Krakow Gallery, Boston, MA, USA
The New Poverty II, Meyers Bloom Gallery, Santa Monica, CA, USA
Object of Thought, A Collection of Objects and Small Sculptures, Anders Tornberg Gallery, New York, NY, USA
The 1980s, Prints from the Collection of Joshua P. Smith, National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C., USA
Selected Multiples, Brooke Alexander Editions, New York ,NY, USA
Gemälde und Skulpturen, Bündner Kunstmuseum Chur, Chur, Switzerland
1988
Blow Up, Kunstmuseum Lucerne, Lucerne, Switzerland
Works on Paper, Curt Marcus Gallery, New York, NY, USA
Off White, Diane Brown Gallery, New York, NY, USA
Not Vital, Salvatore Scarpitta, Studio Guenzani, Milan, Italy
Kaldeway Press, Thomas E. Watson Library, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY, USA
Konfrontationen von Angelika Kauffmann bis Miriam Cahn, Bündner Kunstmuseum Chur, Chur, Switzerland
Donald Baechler, Michael Byron, Not Vital, Baron/Boisanté, New York, NY, USA
Not Vital, Ange Leccia, Dennis Adams, Galerie Faust, Geneva, Switzerland
Recent Acquisitions, Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY, USA
1987
The New Poverty, John Gibson Gallery, New York, NY, USA
Drawing Since 1940, Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY, USA
16 Schweizer Künstler, Druck-Graphik der 80er Jahre, Bündner Kunstmuseum Chur, Chur, Switzerland
Similia / Dissimilia, Städtische Kunsthalle, Düsseldorf, Germany
Similia / Dissimilia, Wallach Art Gallery, New York, NY, USA; Leo Castelli Gallery, New York, NY, USA; Sonnabend Gallery, New York, NY, USA
Similia / Dissimilia, Curt Marcus Gallery, New York, NY, USA
The Antique Future, Massimo Audiello Gallery, New York, NY, USA
Walls and Spaces, three swiss artists, Rosmarie Koczy, Oliver Mosset, Not Vital, New York, NY, USA
1986
Invitational Exhibition, Curt Marcus Gallery, New York, NY, USA
Brooklyn Museum, New York, NY, USA
Time After Time, Diana Brown Gallery, New York, NY, USA
Willard Gallery, New York, NY, USA
Verso Sud e Verso Nord: Artisti italiani e svizzeri, Palazzo Vagnotti, Cortona, Italy
1985
Male Sexuality, Art City, New York, NY, USA
Gallery Nature Morte, New York, NY, USA
Graffiti And East Village Artists, Librizzi Gallery, New York, NY, USA
Objects of Comfort, City Without Walls, Newark, NJ, USA
Cult and Decorum, Tibor de Nagy Gallery, New York, NY, USA
American Paintings 1975 - 1985, The Aaron and Phillis Katz Collection, Aspen Art Museum, Aspen, CO, USA
Large Drawings, Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY, USA
Bündner Kunstmuseum Chur, Chur, Switzerland
1984
Ref. 84, Palud N° 1, Lausanne, Switzerland
Aspekte Aktueller Bündner Kunst, Bündner Kunstmuseum, Chur, Chur, Switzerland
Jim Colarusso, Michael Hafftka, Christoph Hertzog, Not Vital, Mendelson Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Wedge Benefit, Gallery Nature Morte, New York, NY, USA
Selected Drawings by Eleven Artists, Willard Gallery, New York, NY, USA
Eccentric Image(s), Margo Leavin Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, USA
1983
Not Vital, Corsin Fontana, Das Auslöschen Der Bilder Durch Die Zeit, Galerie Claudia Knapp, Chur, Switzerland
Twelve Swiss Artists, Gimpel-Hanover + André Emmerich Galleries, Zürich, Switzerland
Gimpel-Hanover Gallery, London, UK
Not Vital, Steve Staso, Julian L. Mosca, Schweizerhof, Vulpera, Switzerland
Niveau Gallery, New York, NY, USA
New Expressions, Leonarda di Mauro Gallery, New York, NY, USA
Joseph Nechvatal, Not Vital, Robin Weglinski, Gallery Nature Morte, New York, NY, USA
Bündner Kunstmuseum Chur, Chur, Switzerland
1982
Bündner Kunstmuseum Chur, Chur, Switzerland
Yulla Lipchitz And Not Vital, Mendelson Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Animals And Archetypes, P. S. 122, New York, NY, USA
1980
Bündner Kunstmuseum Chur, Chur, Switzerland
1979
Sommerausstellung, Galerie Schöner Wohnen, Zürich and Locarno, Switzerland
Weihnachtsausstellung der Bündner Künstler, Bündner Kunstmuseum Chur, Chur, Switzerland
1977
Städtische Galerie Zum Strauhof, Zürich, Switzerland
1976
Bündner Kunstmuseum Chur, Chur, Switzerland
Austria
Museum der Moderne, Salzburg
Denmark
Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebæk
France
Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris
Germany
Kunsthalle Bielefeld, Bielefeld
Schauwerk Sindelfingen, Sindelfingen
Japan
Toyota Municipal Museum of Art, Aichi
Switzerland
Bündner Kunstmuseum, Chur
Fonds Municipal d’Art Contemporain, Geneva
Graphische Sammlung der ETH, Zürich
Kunstmuseum Bern, Bern
Kunsthaus Glarus, Glarus
Kunstmuseum Luzern, Lucerne
Kunstmuseum St. Gallen, Saint Gallen
Musée d’Art et d’histoire, Geneva
Museo d'arte della Svizzera italiana, Lugano
Museum zu Allerheiligen Schaffhausen, Schaffhausen
UK
Ashmolean Museum, Oxford
USA
Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY
Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, PA
Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, TX
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA
The Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY
New York Public Library, New York, NY
Philadelphia Museum, Philadelphia, PA
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, NY