Lionel Bovier's 'Across/Art/Suisse/1975-2000' Charts Swiss Art's Metamorphosis

Lionel Bovier, a young independent curator, coordinates 'Across/Art/Suisse/1975-2000', a book that reframes the transformation of the Swiss art scene over twenty-five years. The volume opens with the climate of the 1970s, citing Paul Nizon's 1972 'Discourse on Narrowness', which criticized Swiss culture as conservative, narrow, and navel-gazing. Nizon's complaints included the lack of a major capital to attract forces and a misinterpretation of democracy that levels everything. Bovier counters these self-punishing clichés, arguing that the absence of a capital became an asset in globalization, forcing mobility and openness to multiple cultures. The new generation of artists—Pipilotti Rist, Ugo Rondinone, Sylvie Fleury—is described as traveled, informed, and synthetic. Switzerland itself is reimagined as a 'meta-urban artistic center'. The book ends with the pop work of young Valaisan artist Valentin Carron, who reproduces alpine chalets, snowdrifts, and other mountain crafts in polyester resin, suggesting unresolved legacies. Philippe Rahm reviewed the book for artpress.