BALGACH, SWISS
HAUPTSTRASSE 71
28TH JUNE 2025 | 14:00–18:00
GLADLY ALSO BY TELEPHONE APPOINTMENT | +41 79 349 2475
JUNE 28TH - AUGUST 10TH 2025

SE-VEN NOEM PRESENTS HARDY*
A VISUAL MANIFESTO FOR PEACE BY SE-VEN NOEM

IN A WORLD OFTEN CHARACTERIZED BY CONFLICT AND TENSION, A FASCINATING ART PROJECT EMERGES THAT NOT ONLY INSPIRES WONDER BUT ALSO INVITES REFLECTION. ARTIST SEVEN NOEM PRESENTS HER LATEST SERIES, "HARDY*," IN WHICH SHE TAKES US ON A JOURNEY WHOSE PROTAGONIST IS A CHARMINGLY QUIRKY ORANGUTAN – HARDY*. USING A MASTERFUL COMBINATION OF BLACK AND WHITE ACRYLIC PAINT AND A MYSTERIOUS UV VARNISH THAT IS ONLY VISIBLE UNDER BLACK LIGHT, NOEM CREATES A METAPHORICAL STAGE. ON THIS STAGE, HARDY*, THE MOST PEACEFUL OF ALL LIVING BEINGS, ACTS AS AN AMBASSADOR FOR WORLD PEACE. THE IDEA THAT A SINGLE ORANGUTAN POSSESSES THE POWER TO BESTOW A GOOD HEART UPON EVERY HUMAN BEING IS BOTH POETIC AND PROVOCATIVE. HARDY*, WHO ROAMS THE WORLD'S METROPOLISES WITH A HEART-SHAPED HELIUM BALLOON IN HIS HAND – WHETHER IN NEW YORK CITY SUBWAY STATIONS, VIBRANT JAZZ BARS, OR THE DARK CORNERS OF A MOVIE THEATER – EMBODIES THE LONGING FOR A COLLECTIVE SENSE OF COMMUNITY AND A FUNDAMENTAL HUMAN CONNECTION. NOEM'S WORKS ARE MORE THAN JUST VISUAL EXPERIENCES; THEY ARE A CALL TO REFLECTION ON THE QUESTION OF WHAT WORLD PEACE MIGHT MEAN. IF EVERYONE HAD A GOOD HEART, THE IMPLICIT MESSAGE IS, WARS AND CONFLICTS WOULD BE A THING OF THE PAST. BUT HOW DO YOU TRANSLATE SUCH A COMPLEX IDEA INTO THE LANGUAGE OF ART? BY MAKING THEM TANGIBLE. HARDY* BECOMES A SYMBOL OF THIS MISSION – HIS APPEARANCE IN PUBLIC SPACES IS AN ACT OF GIVING AND SHARING, A CALL TO ALL OF US TO OVERCOME THE BARRIERS OF OUR OWN HEARTS. THE INTERACTION BETWEEN ART AND EVERYDAY LIFE THAT NOEM CREATES IS PARTICULARLY REMARKABLE. IT PLACES HARDY* NOT ONLY IN THE ELITE HALLS OF GALLERIES, BUT DIRECTLY INTO THE HUSTLE AND BUSTLE OF LIFE. HERE, WHERE PEOPLE OF DIFFERENT BACKGROUNDS, SKIN COLORS, AND CULTURES COME TOGETHER, HE OFFERS HIS "HEARTS" – AN ANTI-COMMERCIAL GIFT THAT IS MORE THAN THE SUM OF ITS PARTS. IT IS AN INVITATION TO EMPATHY IN TIMES OF ALIENATION. "HARDY*" IS A PROFOUND REFLECTION ON THE ART OF GIVING, ON THE DELICACY OF THE HUMAN SOUL, AND ON THE POWER THAT LIES IN THE SIMPLICITY OF A GOOD HEART. AS ABSURD AS IT MAY SEEM, THIS PONDEROUS CREATURE WITH A HELIUM-FILLED BALLOON COULD CARRY THE ANSWER TO THE MOST PRESSING QUESTIONS OF OUR EXISTENCE: HOW CAN WE CREATE PEACE? HOW CAN WE HARMONIZE HUMANITY? WITH "HARDY*," SEVEN NOEM SHOWS THAT ART SHOULD ALWAYS BE A PLATFORM FOR CHANGE. IT CHALLENGES US TO REFLECT ON OUR OWN LIVES AND QUESTION HOW WE CAN MAKE THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE – AND THAT BEGINS WITH OUR HEARTS. DISCIPLINE CULTURE