Olivier Mosset

The geometric segmentation of the panel gives it the look of a cut-out: the picture can be viewed as a diagonal black stripe that cleaves the image's green background from top left to bottom right – or it can be seen as three stripes, green-black-green. The panel painting testifies to the artist's interest in monochrome painting. Olivier Mosset (*1944 Bern, CH), currently resident in Tucson, Arizona, started work as an assistant for Jean Tinguely and Daniel Spoerri and in 1967 joined the radical BMPT art group, which comprised four painters including Daniel Buren. The group adopted an attention-grabbing stance against any traditional concepts of art. Thus, at the 1967 Salon de la Jeune Peinture in Paris, the members took down their paintings on the opening day and walked out, citing the exploitation of painting at the service of representation. The members dedicated themselves consequently in various ways to engaging with elementary, geometric structures. This search for new forms of expression beyond figurative, narrative painting and individual brushstroke inspired Mosset to a lasting and consistent engagement with both monochromy and geometric form that still endures today. The EPO's large-scale work from 2004 also owes its origins to this broad range of perceptual options.