Originally from Schaffhausen, Switzerland, Olaf Breuning currently lives and works in New York City. He works in a wide range of media and his work has been exhibited internationally. His show Art Freaks is currently up at Metro Pictures until October 29th.
Tell us a little bit about yourself and what you do. I am a normal human who tries to get along in this life.
What materials do you use in your work and what is your process like? I use whatever I can find and whatever fits to the works I want to do…but there are no limits.
What kinds of things are influencing your work right now? Our time. The restless internet, mobile phones…just the fact the we change our perspective on things like we do our underpants.
If you had to explain your work to a stranger, what would you say? …It has humor and colors and is strange.
What are some recent, upcoming or current projects you are working on? Home 3 will be my new movie. Finish next spring.
If you had one wish what would it be? …that I could have many more wishes…(I know that is the most stereotypical answer to this question)
What artists are you interested in right now? I am not interested in artists (artists, please don’t take that personally).
What was the last exhibition you saw that stuck out to you? The Arsenale at the Venice Biennial. I could not believe my eyes how boring that was.
Top 3 favorite or most visited websites and why? Spiegel Online….can’t get rid of my Swiss German background, red.com…can’t wait until the next camera comes out, me.com…to check my agenda.
How long have you lived in New York and what brought you there? 11 years. The city of Zurich gave me a scholarship for one year in New York. And I stayed.
What’s your absolute favorite place to be? My studio.
Can you share one of the best or worst reactions you have gotten as a result of you work? I planned to shoot a photo in Easter Island and asked a woman at a travel agency from there to help me. After hearing my plans (trying to put some ears on the Moais) she said: “don’t come to Easter Island, we don’t need people like you here…” Anyway, I went there without her help and shot a nice photo.
Most embarrassing moment? In earlier times, no film in the camera. Current, forgetting to press the record button.