Who I am:
human, thinker, explorer, founder, entrepreneur, designer, photographer, artist.
"cosmicball" is a creation label. If you want a so called artist name. However many think that "cosmicball" is one of my round urns, which rightfully is called "ball of love". I was born in Malaysia, on the island Borneo. And then I stayed a few years in Africa as well.
According to my passport I am Swiss. Matura in Solothurn.
Studio & workplace since 1998 in Zurich City, Switzerland.
Do you want to know more?
The name seems big - the idea behind it is simple. With "cosmicball" I want to express, that my works centre around the topic "become and elapse", the circle of life, the infinity of the universe. Both can be associated with the image of a cosmic ball.
I present my works and projects under the name "cosmicball", which I devised, created, conceived, developed and realized.
According to my passport, I am Swiss. I was born in Sabah, Kudat.
Borneo is an island in South East Asia. It is located at the centre of the Malay archipelago between the continents as well as the Philippines. Borneo is devided between the three states Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei. With the surface of 751.936 km² Borneo is the thrid largest island in the world, after Greenland and Neuguinea.
After Borneo I was in Cameroon, Africa. A time which shaped me very strongly. Cameroon is a country in Central Africa. It borders on Nigeria, Chad, the Republic of Central Africa, the Republic of the Congo, Gabun, Equatorial Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean.
The cinerary urn is a container, known since the Neolithic Age, which is used for the final funeral or as a storage of the ash of a deceased after the cremation. In Middle Europe the funeral in urns came up in the Late Neolithic Age (2500-2100 v. Chr.). Before that there was only the cremation and the funeral of the fire remains without any kind of urn. During the Bronze Age the funeral of the ashes in urns spread over large parts of Europe. It was and is part of death and funeral cult.
"ball of love" redefines the urn new and can be used as a symbol, secret carrier and keepsake.
You learn more if you scroll down, write me an email or schedule an appointment with me at my studio in Zurich.
human, thinker, explorer, founder, entrepreneur, designer, photographer, artist.
live, think, explore, found, venture, design, photograph, be
I like the simple and the permanent and I am interested in the creation of an archetype.
Studio in Zurich, City
Zentralstrasse 50
8003 Zurich
thomasschaer@cosmicball.com
Born and raised on the island Borneo, Malaysia and Cameroon, Africa. 1986 Matura. Since 1996 under the pseudonym "cosmicball" responsible for the appearance of URNE.CH and the creation and developement of the urn collection. Autodidactic developement in conception, design, webpublisher SIZ, creation, grafic, screen printing, photography. Winner of national and international competitions.
Since 1996 "cosmicball" Thomas Schär developed and created a handmade urn collection. Each urn is conceived and created from scratch and contains an own identity, an own name and a particular story. On some urns other artists eternalised themselves.
You will find more pictures here: cosmicballsdiary.com / urns on a journey / my personal archive
"cosmicball” Thomas Schär– With his current «cosmicball collection» 2025 in the Swiss mountains on the Flüela.
«URNE.CH BY COSMICBALL» - 1998 to 2025
The artist «cosmicball» Thomas Schär exhibits urns in his studio in Zurich Wiedikon.
«I found standard urns incredibly depressing. You're already sad when a loved one dies. So why would you choose a sad-looking urn?» says Schär. «I'm an artist and countered this with something colourful, something special.»
30. October 2024
Tuesday, 17th of May 2022 until Sunday, 18th of September 2022
Thomas Schär, also known under the artist name "cosmicball", is part of the exhibition "Death, radically normal" at the Vögele Kultur Zentrum. Here he presents his work, the result of his 25-year commitment. With his work and his commitment, Thomas Schär makes an active contribution to de-tabooing the topics of "dying, death, farewell and remembrance". His goal is to get people to deal with these fundamental aspects of life and to raise their awareness about death.
"Death, radically normal." with "cosmicball"
17.05. - 18.09.2022.
A walk through Zurich's Creative District.
This year, "cosmicball" is once again involved with Urne.ch in the Kreislauf 345 project. Visit the unique showroom of Urne.ch in Zurich's Wiedikon at Zentralstrasse 50.
A beautiful ending.
In February 2022, SRF Geschichten & Gesichter paid a visit to the studio in Zurich Wiedikon to learn more about Thomas Schär's urn collection and his life as an artist. In the report, the artist talks about his past, the conservative approach to death here in Europe, and his goal to de-taboo the topic of death.
He creates artistic vessels for the final journey.
Thomas Schär does not want to end up in a conventional urn. Learn more about his art project here.
Oct. 2021
Art until death. - "The urn is the last shell of a human being."
Thomas Schär tells us more about his life's work.
Jun. 2021
Discover Zurich's Creative District.
Ashes to Ashes. The song by David Bowie is timeless. Far from dusty is also the look & feel of Urne.ch, the unique urn studio with a showroom in Zurich that is celebrating its 20thanniversary. If one thing is fair: We all have to pass, whether poor or rich. Which is also why artist and owner of Cosmicball Collection, Thomas Schär, gives each handmade urn a new design from the ground up and with it a distinctive identity – individual requests included! Schär also promotes promising young art with youngart.ch and further projects. True to the motto: Life goes on.
An interview: Thomas Schär answers questions about dying, death and memory in his atelier URNE.CH in Zurich.
Discover Zurich's Creative District.
Ashes to Ashes. The song by David Bowie is timeless. Far from dusty is also the look & feel of Urne.ch, the unique urn studio with a showroom in Zurich that is celebrating its 20thanniversary. If one thing is fair: We all have to pass, whether poor or rich. Which is also why artist and owner of Cosmicball Collection, Thomas Schär, gives each handmade urn a new design from the ground up and with it a distinctive identity – individual requests included! Schär also promotes promising young art with youngart.ch and further projects. True to the motto: Life goes on.
Portfolio viewing with "cosmicball" Thomas Schär at the Rote Fabrik, Shedhalle Zurich. Presentation of the "cosmicball collection" idea and concept with ball of love "skull" as well as "strawberry".
At the portfolio viewing, several artists present their works and portfolios within a limited period of time in front of art enthusiasts and renowned art experts - including Aline Juchler, curator and art expert at Pro Helvetia, Sabine Rusterholz, curator and member of the Zurich Art Commission and Gianni Garzoli, President of the Swiss Association of Art Collectors.
Moderation: Salome Hohl
Art Scene 2018 with "cosmicball"
Nov. 2018
THAT ONE MOMENT
«cosmicball» Thomas Schär at Kunst(zeug)Haus Rapperswil 2018
Death and transience: this was the theme of an exhibition by IG Halle at Kunst(zeug)Haus Rapperswil in 2018. However, the focus was just as much on life and the question of how all the moments are lived before this one moment occurs. The selection of works offered the opportunity for discussion on various levels. Renowned artists, as experts in transformation, raised the question of death in an explicit or indirect way. Through their individual approach, the selected works touched on very different aspects of the theme: from the depiction of ruins and skulls to the exploration of matter to the limits of abundance and chance to visible and invisible phenomena of perception. In addition to the artistic approach, several events enabled a more in-depth examination, e.g. through encounters with people who engage in unconventional activities or deal intensively with death in their professions.
That One Moment with "cosmicball"
26.08. - 04.11.2018.
TV feature: Tele Basel on the urn collection by "cosmicball" Thomas Schär in the newly opened studio in Basel, St. Johann.
Aug. 2017
Exhibition Pforzheim 19th of May - 25th of June 2017: Urn sculpture room of silence® with urn ball of love®.
The exhibition "Luxury!? - Positions between Opulence and Asceticism" addresses historical, contemporary and future concepts of luxury. It focuses on both the material and the immaterial. The focus is on consumer goods and works of visual art that stand between the poles of "more is more" and "less is more". On display are concepts of 'Hidden Wealth', including objects by porcelain manufacturer Nymphenburg, Otto Künzli, Leica and Maison Martin Margiela. urne.ch has also been invited to the exhibition with the ball of love®, which is enveloped by the room of silence®.
"Hidden Luxury - Versteckter Luxus"
19.05. - 25.06.2017
Lecture on "Farewell and funeral culture"
An event organized by SBAP,
Swiss Association for Applied Psychology
Feb. 2017
"Fabio" is interviewd in the Urne.ch studio by Schweizer Illustrierte.
Jan. 2014
"cosmicball" in conversation with Radio Lora: listen to interview
Nov. 2013Timeline 1980 - 2010
TV, radio and press report on «cosmicball» - further highlights and awards:
A guest at Kurt Aeschbacher, 10vor10 SRF and Eva Wannenmacher "Kulturplatz"
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