View works. ©️ Philippe Decrauzat ©️ Fonds de dotation Bredin-Prat pour l’art contemporain
©️ Philippe Decrauzat ©️ Fonds de dotation Bredin-Prat pour l’art contemporain
View works

Artistic Importance and Historical Context

A graduate of ECAL (École Cantonale d’Art de Lausanne), where he now teaches, Decrauzat is one of the most influential Swiss artists of his generation. His practice renews the principles of abstract art while placing them within a contemporary framework informed by scientific imagery, cinematic structures, and spatial experimentation. He co-founded the art space CIRCUIT in Lausanne, a platform that has been pivotal in the support of emerging and experimental artistic practices.

 

By revisiting the visual languages of modernism—notably Constructivism, the Bauhaus, and the aesthetics of the 1960s—Decrauzat creates works that are at once analytical and sensorial. His precise formal vocabulary is imbued with motion, rhythm, and perceptual instability, anchoring him as a vital figure in the lineage of optical and conceptual abstraction.

 

Thought and Philosophy

Decrauzat’s work is not merely a formal exercise but a philosophical inquiry into how perception is constructed. He is particularly drawn to the moment where visual order becomes uncertain, where geometry becomes affective. His optical environments are designed not to deceive but to destabilize certainty, compelling the viewer to reconsider the act of looking itself.

In his own words:

“I am interested in the direct relationship that optical art establishes with the viewer, in how it conditions the gaze. But unlike artists of the 1980s, I do not seek to develop a discourse on the ideological implications tied to the historical development of abstraction.”

This conceptual position allows him to investigate the sensory and cognitive dimensions of space, translating visual tension into immersive aesthetic experience.

 

Key Works and Exhibitions

  • Komakino (2005, MAMCO Geneva): A site-specific mural composed of vibrating black-and-white patterns, echoing the dynamics of modernist architecture and Op Art visuality.

  • Anisotropy (2011, Le Plateau Paris): An exploration of dislocated visual fields through sculpture, painting, and experimental film.

  • Blind Paintings (2023, Galerie Lange + Pult): A new body of work in which gradients and blur dissolve the image into perceptual flux, evoking a meditation on visibility and disappearance.

 

His work has been shown at major institutions including:

  • Secession Vienna

  • Swiss Institute, New York

  • Centre d’Art Contemporain Genève

  • MoMA, New York (Abstract Generation: Now in Print)

  • Grand Palais, Paris (Dynamo)

 

Honors and Awards

Philippe Decrauzat’s excellence has been recognized by numerous prestigious awards:

  • Swiss Federal Art Award (2004)

  • Manor Cultural Prize (2002)

  • Gustave Buchet Prize (2010)

  • Kiefer Hablitzel Prize (1999)

  • Dr. Georg & Josi Guggenheim Foundation Award (2006)

 

Legacy and Contribution

Through his unique fusion of abstraction, architecture, and perceptual science, Philippe Decrauzat has redefined the possibilities of contemporary geometric art. His work does not merely inherit the legacy of modernist abstraction—it reinvigorates it for a new era. By engaging viewers on cognitive, spatial, and emotional levels, he has established himself as a leading voice in European contemporary art.

 

SELECTED ARTICLES