Art Genève 2025

Waddington Custot returns to Art Geneve for 2025 with two major presentations: a special solo presentation of Parisian artist Sam Szafran (1934–2019) and an exhibition spotlighting of modern and contemporary masterworks.

Parisian artist Sam Szafran holds a unique position in the history of late 20th-century art. His work, rooted in a deeply personal and figurative exploration of reality, was created in the solitude of his studio, far removed from the shifting trends of the art world. This exhibition by Waddington Custot delves into two of Szafran’s most iconic themes: the luxuriant, tangled foliage of his philodendrons, often depicted in a greenhouse or studio setting where the boundaries between indoors and outdoors blur; and his vertigo-inducing winding staircases, which seem to twist endlessly into space. These two motifs, though distinct in subject and approach, might almost seem the work of different artists, yet they spring from the same singular vision of a man born in Paris in 1934. 

Swiss audiences, in particular, may find this presentation compelling, as Szafran’s work is celebrated at the Pierre Gianadda Foundation in Martigny, Switzerland. The foundation’s Pavillon Szafran houses two monumental tile masterpieces, ‘Escalier’ (2005) and ‘Philodendrons’ (2006), which are displayed on the north-west and south-east walls of the building, offering a permanent testament to his enduring legacy.

Our main booth of the fair features works by established modern and contemporary artists including: Kenia Almaraz Murillo, Jean Arp, Yves Dana, Ian Davenport, Jean Dubuffet, Barry Flanagan, Hans Hartung, Robert Indiana, René Magritte, Fausto Melotti, Pierre Soulages, Chu Teh-Chun, Sophia Vari, Bernar Venet, Fabienne Verdier and Maria Helena Vieira da Silva.