'The possibilities felt endless’: An Interview with Tashi Brauen & Chris Bünter

Artists Tashi Brauen (left) & Chris Bünter (right)

The exhibition Road to Nowhere features a collaborative project by two Swiss artists and friends, Tashi Brauenand Chris Bünter. 

 

Their ongoing collaboration follows a method of artistic exchange reminiscent of the Surrealist game Exquisite Corpse. Beginning with a found source material - pages of past issues of the Swiss art Magazine DU - Brauen applies paint in a rudimentary inkblot-style printing process, creating spontaneous, colorful forms over photographs of artworks, architecture, people, and landscapes. Bünter responds with a cutout collage technique, transposing fragments of images and paint across the page and between the different works. 

 

The duo's simple and intuitive interventions alter, obscure, and recompose the magazine's highly curated content into playful and striking works of vivid color and surprising compositions. 

 

Ronewa gallery manager April Dell talked to Brauen and Bünter about their collaboration and the joys and benefits of working closely with fellow artists. 

 

 Tashi Brauen & Chris Bünter, Road to Nowhere, 2025, mixed media on paper, 33 x 45 cm.

 

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April Dell: This collaborative project embraces spontaneity, intuition, coincidence, and surrendering control. What was the most surprising element to emerge from this process?

 

Tashi Brauen: It was incredibly exciting to see how the work with Chris kept evolving, with new ideas and approaches constantly emerging around how we could collaborate. The possibilities felt endless, but over time, we developed a set of rules to guide the process.

In the beginning, we exchanged the works several times. After a few weeks, we realized that less is more, so we focused on refining our individual contributions and began having deeper conversations about form and presentation.

 

Chris Bünter: The amazing thing, if we consider the results, is that two people who are so different can produce something so unified. I was also surprised by the audience's level of interest and positive reactions.

 

Road to Nowhere: Tashi Brauen & Chris Bünter, exhibition view, 2025, Ronewa Art Projects, Berlin.

 

AD: What do you like about collaborating with another artist?

 

CB: Making art is a lonely business. However, it also requires social and societal considerations. I enjoy discussing different perspectives on art with other artists, and the ways in which artists develop their individual working methods also constantly interest me. But it’s when we work together that our differences become artistically fruitful. 

The joint development of a project influences my own practice. In my experience, when a collaborative work is presented to the public, the exchange with the audience is more open and less focused on me as an individual.

 

TB: The collaboration with Chris felt very organic and spontaneous. We didn’t force anything; one thing simply led to the next. It was truly inspiring to work with him.

For me, it’s important to collaborate with another artist from time to time. I typically work alone in the studio—which I love—but occasionally stepping out of that solitude and letting your work flow in dialogue with someone else can be a real eye-opener. You stop fixating on the final product, and it becomes freer and more experimental.

 

Road to Nowhere: Tashi Brauen & Chris Bünter, exhibition view, 2025, Ronewa Art Projects, Berlin.

 

AD:  What do you admire about each other’s practice?

 

TB: What I admire about Chris’s work is its precision, but also its playfulness. The way he engages with people, in my opinion, is beautifully reflected in his artistic approach. His interventions are subtle yet layered with meaning.

I especially appreciate how he constantly reimagines his work in terms of form and content—there’s always something fresh and surprising in it, which I find very compelling.

 

CB: I appreciate Tashi's sense of humor and his even-tempered nature. This combination makes working together very easy. Our different skills and talents always prove to complement each other perfectly.

 

About the author

April Dell

April Dell is an art writer from New Zealand, living and working in Berlin since 2012. As the gallery manager and communications manager at Ronewa Art Projects, April showcases Ronewa's roster of international artists through exhibition project management, press coordination, and online communication channels. 

 

Contemporary art has long been a passion of hers, and she loves nothing more than experiencing and writing about art. She has a B.A. from Otago University, New Zealand, where she studied Art History and Film and Media Studies.  April also has a Graduate Certificate in Communications and Public Relations and provides communications services within the arts and culture industry. 

View all posts by April Dell