BIOGRAPHY
Vlad Pocol (b. 1992, Fribourg, Switzerland) is a Swiss multidisciplinary artist living and working between Paris and Riyadh. His practice spans painting, sculpture, and textile installation, exploring displacement, material accumulation, and the construction of territory through layered surfaces.
Marked by a heritage of Romanian political exile and Levantine ancestry, Pocol trained as a lawyer and served as a judge in Switzerland before dedicating himself fully to art in 2023. His method originated in an accident, a destroyed painting reworked with an oyster knife, that became the foundation of a material language built on density, topographic gesture, and the refusal of loss.
In 2026, his work was presented in An Owl in Daylight, a group exhibition curated by Fabio Trotabas and Axel Fried, produced by Culturing Company, bringing together works by major international artists including Louise Bourgeois, Philippe Parreno, Christian Marclay, and Chiharu Shiota.
Recent solo exhibitions include Curated by One at One Za'abeel, Dubai (2025), following an inaugural edition by Diana Al-Hadid, and From Roots to Vision. A Migration. at Ahlam Gallery, Riyadh (2024), supported by the Embassy of Switzerland.
His works are held in institutional collections including the Sigg Art Foundation and the SICPA Foundation in Switzerland, as well as private and royal collections in the Middle East, Europe, and the United States.
Vlad Pocol with Her Excellency Madame Yasmine Chatila Zwahlen, Ambassador of Switzerland to Saudi Arabia, at his solo exhibition in Riyadh, May 2024
CV
VLAD POCOL b. 1992, Fribourg, Switzerland. Lives and works between Paris and Riyadh.
Swiss multidisciplinary artist working across painting, sculpture, and textile installation. Former lawyer and judge in Switzerland. Full-time artistic practice since 2023.
EDUCATION
2015–2016 · Master in Economic Law, University of Geneva and University of Zurich
2012–2015 · Bachelor of Law, University of Fribourg
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2025, September-October · Curated by One, One Za'abeel, Dubai. With the collaboration of Aerlume Art. Second edition of the programme, following an inaugural presentation by Diana Al-Hadid.
2024, May-June · From Roots to Vision. A Migration., Ahlam Gallery, Riyadh. Supported by the Embassy of Switzerland in Saudi Arabia.
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2026, June-July · Loisir Gallery, West Hollywood, Los Angeles
2026, May-June · An Owl in Daylight, 7 bis Avenue de Saint-Mandé, Paris. Group exhibition directed by Fabio Trotabas and curated by Axel Fried. Artists include Louise Bourgeois, Philippe Parreno, Christian Marclay, Chiharu Shiota, Agnes Scherer, among others.
2025-2026, Frieze Week · Loisir Gallery, West Hollywood, Los Angeles
2024, September-October · Luminosity, Loisir Gallery, West Hollywood, Los Angeles
COLLECTIONS
Sigg Art Foundation, Switzerland
SICPA Foundation, Switzerland
Private and royal collections, Middle East, Europe, and the United States
SELECTED PRESS
2025 · L'Officiel UK, The Colors of Emotions
2025 · The Zenith Magazine, Vlad Pocol's Migration of Colour at One Za'abeel
2024 · Arab News, interview and feature
2024 · ArtDayME, exhibition review
PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND
2023 - now · Full time artist
2023 · Judge and President of the Civil Court, Fribourg
2020 - 2023 · Lawyer, Civil Court, Fribourg
2018 - 2020 · Lawyer, Delta Law Firm, Fribourg
2017 - 2018 · Trainee Lawyer, Lenz & Staehelin, Geneva
CONTACT