Bernard Piffaretti

Bernard Piffaretti, a French artist, centers his artistic approach on repetition, simultaneously dissecting the elements of painting.

Biography of Bernard Piffaretti

Bernard Piffaretti was born in 1955 in Saint-Etienne, France. He studied at Beaux-Arts de Saint-Etienne from 1974 to 1979. Following these studies, he initiated the development of his "Piffaretti system," which was established in 1986.

Piffaretti's paintings have been exhibited worldwide. His recent solo exhibitions include "Ridgeline" at Kate MacGarry in London (2022), "Pick Up" at Lisson Gallery in New York (2022), "Twin Peaks and Company" at Lisson Gallery in Shanghai (2021), "Double" at Blanc International Contemporary Art Space in Beijing (2021), "Acteur" at Galerie Frank Elbaz in Paris (2020), and numerous others.

The artist has also participated in numerous group exhibitions, including "Repetition" at Centre Pompidou-Metz in Metz (2023), "The Double: Identity and Difference in Art since 1900" at the National Gallery of Washington in Washington (2022), "Homage to Shirley Jaffe" at Galerie Nathalie Obadia in Paris (2022), and "Stand with Ukraine" at Hales Gallery in London, among others.

Artworks by Bernard Piffaretti are held in public collections across the globe, including the BASF Collection (Münster, Germany), Centre Georges Pompidou (Paris, France), Collection Banque européenne d’investissement (Luxembourg), National Gallery of Art (Washington, D.C., USA), Sara Hildén Museum (Tampere, Finland), and Société des Amis du Musée National d’Art Moderne (Paris, France), among others.

Currently, the artist lives in Paris, where he continues to work.

Bernard Piffaretti's Art Style

Since 1986, when he established the "Piffaretti system," the artist has dedicated his artistic practice to the "duplication method," creating abstract paintings that give the impression of two identical halves separated by the vertical axis. Upon closer examination, subtle differences emerge, including variations in the brushstroke angles, the number of drips, and the intensity of the hues.

Piffaretti's system endeavors to illustrate the unattainable reproduction of the artistic gesture. In certain pieces, the second part is deliberately left blank due to the intricacy of the painted forms. Additionally, Piffaretti creates drawings after his paintings, reversing the conventional notion of preparatory sketches and employing them as a means to capture his own artwork.