Olivier Mosset

A Swiss visual artist, Olivier Mosset is one of the central figures in post-war abstract painting, and a pivotal reference for generations of European and American painters. He is also known for his sculptures.

Born 1944 in Bern, Mosset lives and works in Tucson, Arizona. As a young artist he was an assistant to both Jean Tinguely and Daniel Spoerri. While living in Paris int he 1960s, he was a member of the collective BMPT, along with Daniel Buren, Michel Parmentier, and Niele Toroni. The group questioned notions of authorship and originality. They often did each other's works, implying that the art object was more important than its authorship. His work has been exhibited in venues all around the world, including Musée de Beaux-Arts La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, Centre d’Art Contemporain, France, Musée Sainte-Croix, France, Centre d’Art Contemporain, Geneva, Musée Saint Pierre Art Contemporain, Lyon, Musée Cantonal des Beaux-Arts de Lausanne, Switzerland, Palais de Tokyo, Paris, Museo d’Arte di Mendrisio, Switzerland, Musée d'art contemporain de Lyon, France, Kunsthalle Zürich, Switzerland, Opéra national de Paris, Palais Garnier, Paris, and Musée Régional d'Art Contemporain Languedoc-Roussilon à Sérignan, France.

Mosset is best known for a series of monochrome paintings, each featuring a black circle. Between 1966 and 1974, he produced around 200 of these works, seeking to challenge established methods of art-making and theorize a new social and political function for art and artists.