The Alpina Gstaad, the newest luxury hotel to debut in the Swiss Alpine resort in 100 years, has named Pierre Keller as the art advisor for its growing collection of contemporary works. More than 35 artists are represented including Dan Colen, Tracey Emin, Jana Euler, Alex Israel, Terence Koh, Henrik Olesen, General Idea and The Bruce High Quality Foundation.
Keller has had a long and illustrious career as an artist in both the graphic and plastic arts. He has also worked as a publisher, teacher, art consultant, curator and exhibition organizer. He has represented Switzerland in many prestigious events such as the International Poster Biennal in Warsaw, the 9th Biennale des jeunes in Paris and the 17th International Biennal of São Paolo. Currently, promoting Swiss Design under the “Ingenuous Switzerland” platform, Keller is also president of the Vaudois Wine Office, a post he has held since 2011.
He has been recognized for his contributions to the arts and has received honors from the governments of Switzerland, France and Spain. During the festivities of the 700th anniversary of the Swiss Confederation in 1991, Keller represented the Canton of Vaud. Four years later, he became director of the ECAL (Ecole cantonale d`art de Lausanne) which under his leadership became one of Europe’s ten most prestigious art schools.
In 2000, he received the Officier des Arts et des Lettres from the French Government. In 2004, he was appointed a titular professor at the EPFL (Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne). Two years later, he was recognized for his contributions with the Award of the Foundation for the Art of the Canton de Vaud. In 2007, Keller awarded an honorary doctorate from the European University in Barcelona. That same year, he won the prestigious Merit Design Preis Schweiz. He was awarded the Prix de la Ville de Lausanne in 2009, and a year later received the Mérite culturel de reconnaissance de la Ville de Renens. In 2011, he was promoted to the rank of Officier de l’Ordre des Palmes académiques by the French government.
A music enthusiast, Keller is a member of the Board of the Montreux Jazz Festival.
A Swiss native from the Canton of Vaud, Keller received a degree in graphic design with first class honors from the École Cantonale des beaux-arts et d’arts appliqués in Lausanne in 1965.
