Laurent Marthaler is a Swiss art historian and gallerist. He holds an M.A. in art history from the University of Geneva, with further studies in Florence, and gained early professional experience at Christie's in Geneva and at the James Turrell Museum in Colomé, Argentina, before working in the market for an international gallery group.
In 2013 he founded Laurent Marthaler Contemporary in Montreux, specialising in the primary market and representing emerging and mid-career Swiss and international artists. He selects the gallery's artists according to three convictions: that the work must be genuinely innovative, that it must capture the spirit of its time, and that it must take its technique to a new level. For him, collectors, gallerist, and artist write art history together.
Over the past decade the gallery has built an international presence, with more than thirty art fair participations across the United States and Europe — from Art Miami and Palm Beach to LA Art Show, Photo Basel, Kunst Zürich, and VOLTA — and a client base spanning Europe, the Middle East, Turkey, and the United States. In 2023 he began transforming a former car garage into an artistic laboratory, a hybrid space hosting artist residencies and exhibitions.
Alongside the gallery, Laurent Marthaler is an active speaker and lecturer, sharing his perspective on art history and the art market with corporate audiences, private banks, and academic programmes. He works in French, English, German, and Italian.