About
Patricia Dreyfus was born in Dakar and grew up in Paris.
She studied drawing and sculpture at the Gregory Masurovsky Studio (American Center) and at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière, while producing several artist documentaries shown at institutions such as the Centre Pompidou and the Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris.
After moving to Basel in 1992, she devoted herself fully to her artistic practice.
She has lived and worked in Berlin since 2012, and between Berlin and Basel since 2025.
Her work evolves across drawing, sculpture, photography, embroidery and textile-based forms.
Statement
My work is driven by an inner necessity, a desire to explore what lies beyond conscious thought. Drawing and textiles have become central to my practice, offering a space where intuition, imagination, and the unexpected can unfold.
My approach is rooted in the spirit of surrealism, particularly its openness to the unconscious and the unpredictable. I work without a preconceived image, allowing forms to emerge spontaneously. What appears on the paper becomes the starting point for a dialogue between chance and intention, between letting go and making choices.
This intuitive process has accompanied me throughout my artistic journey. For many years, I created hundreds of small ceramic heads, almost obsessively repeating the same gesture. Today, my work moves beyond the human figure, opening up new possibilities through drawing, textiles, and small sculptural objects. These surreal, sometimes enigmatic forms extend into installations, where different materials and elements come together to create unexpected relationships.
I am drawn to the strange and the familiar, to images and objects that seem to emerge from somewhere between dream and reality. I do not seek to illustrate an idea or impose a fixed meaning. What matters to me is the process of discovery, the freedom to follow what appears and to let the work take me somewhere I had not anticipated.
CV
Producer of documentary films in the fields of art, music and economy, Paris
Traineeship at the Atelier Gregory Masurovsky, in the American center, Paris and at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière, Paris
Lives and works in Basel, Switzerland
Lives and works in Berlin
Commmutes between Berlin and Basel
Solo exhibitions (selection)
Heads Heads Heads - Brussels Berlin Art Projects (BBAP), Brussels
Chacun pour soi - LINIEN 83A, Berlin
To see or not to see - Galerie ArtKlub Bonn
SUSPENDED Magdalenenkapelle, Alter Friedhof, 31303 Burgdorf
L'IMAGINAIRE von Inseln und anderen Phantasmen (curated by Harald F. Theiss) LINIEN 83A, Berlin
Award : 3rd Prize 2023 for "Ce que disent les fleurs 1,2,3,4" Kunsthaus Lisa, Germany
KÖPFE UND MASKEN, Kunstverein Wunstorf, Germany
C A C H E (curated by Harald Theiss), LINIEN83A, Berlin
WE ARE MULTITUDES, LINIEN83A, Berlin
lettre à moi-même 3, Kunstverein Wolfenbüttel
lettre à moi-même #2, Galerie Albrecht, Berlin
lettre à moi-même #1, Galerie Mesmer, Basel - CH
HumanKapital, Häuser und Asche, Kunstverein Ebersberg, DE
Weggefährten, Kunstverein Ottobrunn, DE
Insomnia, Kunsthaus Norden, DE
Insomnia, M54, Basel, CH
Traces/Spuren, Karmeliterkirche, Wiener Neustadt, AT
War Memories Reinvented, QCC Gallery, New York, USA
Switzerland, France and Germany
Group exhibitions (selection)
MIND SHAPES von Köpfen, die dazwischen sind
Mia Fair Milan with Art Projects, Brussels (BBAP)
Fäden schaffen Welten - FrauenMuseum Wiesbaden
NADELWERK, Klosterscheune Zehdenick, Zehdenick, DE
AUSBLICKE, Galerie Albrecht, Berlin
Das kleine Format, Atelierhof-Kreuzberg, Berlin
Kölner Liste , Cologne, DE
Wer bist du?, Museum Schwarzenberg,
Umspann ZENTRALE, Galerie G11, Berlin
Kauf mich, Schwartzsche Villa Galerie, Berlin
Remise en Jeu, Kunsthalle Mulhouse, FR
Regionale, Fabrik culture, Hégenheim, F
Regionale, Kunsthalle, Basel, CH
Art and documentary film
« Aux sources du monde arabe », Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris
« La rencontre au sommet », Award for Best Documentary Film, Biarritz Film Festival in France
« L’homme réparé », Centre de la Villette, Paris
« Roberto Matta »
« Les Iles flottantes de Boris Tissot », Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris
« Le rêve d’Aurélie »
« La Vie et l’Oeuvre de Shirley Goldfarb », Musée d’Art Moderne, Paris and Musée de Pontoise
Bibliography
Die imaginäre Insel (Schulz und Schulz)
Insomnia (Benteli)
Obstinate Creation (Linsenmann AG)
Signes de têtes / Headsign (Mendiboure)