OLIVIER MOSSET - 1974

Untitled

CORRIDOR LIBRARY

Born in 1944 in Bern, Zwisterland. He currently lives and work in Tucson, Arizona. 

Olivier Mosset’s work prioritizes neutrality, anonymity and objectivity over specificity, referentiallity, temporality and aesthetics. He begins to reduce linguistic characters to more ambiguous yet simplified forms, finishing his first circle painting in 1966. In Paris, he systematically paints a single black circle centred on a white ground, producing one canvas after the next repeatedly until abruptly stopping in 1974.

Untitled, executed in 1974 highlights the importance of the circle paintings made by the artist and the repetitive nature of the subject matter that was meant to be reused over time. However, the unique nature of Untitled is not only due to its size but also due to the direct application of the acrylic on the wood as well as the value given to the work by the artist as an original model. The work is an original and unique piece and was conceived as a model to realise limited editions of 100 sized 100 x 100 cm.

“To the perpetual motion of the production of signs he responded with repetitiveness, resistance to changeand the reiteration of flawlessly concerted acts, the outcomes being the production of a picture identical toitself, although multiple and, one sensed already, destined to undergo appreciable changes due to the imponderables of conservation.” Mosset describes the circle as: “something that’s is and exists, and couldjust as easily been made by someone else”.

Mosset’s work has been featured in several solo and group exhibitions. Recent solo museum exhibitions include Musée de Beaux-Arts La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland (1985); Centre d’Art Contemporain, France (1985); “Olivier Mosset 65–85,” Musée Sainte-Croix, France (1985); Centre d’Art Contemporain, Geneva (1986); Musée Saint Pierre Art Contemporain, Lyon (1987); “Arbeiten/travaux/works 1966–2003,” Musée Cantonal des Beaux-Arts de Lausanne, Switzerland (2003); “Windows,” Palais de Tokyo, Paris (2006); Museo d’Arte di Mendrisio, Switzerland (2009); “A step backwards,” Musée d'art contemporain de Lyon, France (2010); “Leaving the Museum,” Kunsthalle Zürich, Switzerland (2012); “Sous apparence,” Opéra national de Paris, Palais Garnier, Paris (2012); “Fakes, fêlures and walls,” Musée Régional d'Art Contemporain Languedoc-Roussilon à Sérignan, France (2013). 

Artist

OLIVIER MOSSET

Year

1974

Materials

Acrylic on wood

Size

76 x 76 cm

Edition

-

Gallery

Courtesy of Uhoda SA

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