VNH Gallery is delighted to announce the solo exhibition of the Swiss artist Olivier Mosset, titled “Olivier Mosset” (9 May – 16 June, 2018).

Olivier Mosset has been rigorously pursuing his work over the deconstruction of painting for fifty years now, which he started in the 1960s next to Daniel Buren, Michel Parmentier and Niele Toroni through their group B.M.P.T. Following his research upon the concept of a painting referring only to itself and to its history as a medium, he challenges the notions of “savoir-faire”, originality and the alleged unity of a painting in order to better approach the limits of what painting really is.

At VNH Gallery, Olivier Mosset presents a series of monochromes constructed in the 120 x 240cm format, assembled horizontally as well as vertically. These traditionally shaped canvases underline the artist’s return to classical formats after exploring different paths that led him to work on more complex shapes of canvases.

If the artist believes that a good painting is one in which the spectator shouldn’t see “anything more than what is there”, it is however difficult not to elaborate further on the colours and the titles chosen. In fact, they all undoubtedly refer to the hosting country of the Swiss artist who has been living and working in the state of Arizona for more than forty years now. From “Cadillac Hotel I” and “Cadillac Hotel II” (Los Angeles, Venice Beach), to “Sun City” (self managed by 40.000 seniors nearby Phoenix), the colours chosen by the artist come from a region he keeps roaming by motorcycle or by car (the film “A Portrait of Olivier Mosset” by Jessie Fischer is available on the internet and perfectly depicts this particular atmosphere).

In “Cadillac I”, the orange ochre from a hypothetical ground occupies the superior part of the painting whereas the celestial blue occupies the inferior part; as its latest act of thumbing its nose at the visitor in search of meaning as well as a symbol of the great upheaval the artist has operated over the artistic landscape of the last fifty years.

Olivier Mosset was born in Bern (Switzerland) in 1944. He now lives and works in Tuscon (Arizona, USA).