Bernard Piffaretti: Je n’ai jamais peint un tableau récent

About

The presentation of 12 large-scale works marks the first time Piffaretti will showcase with the gallery in Los Angeles. For over four decades, the artist has deployed his distinctive method now known as “the Piffaretti system.” 

In accordance with this process, each canvas is first of all bisected by a single vertical line. The artist then paints a spontaneous composition on one side of that dividing boundary, and then repeats it on the other. The deliberate ensuing ambiguity as to which side was painted first questions notions of originality, the authentic gesture, and completion.

Upon entering the gallery, visitors are met with Piffaretti’s abstractions in close dialogue with one another. The artist views his oeuvre as a constantly refined singular work, carefully curating exhibitions to feature compositions from various years, often with a decade or more between them.