3 Mountains, 1984

Sculpture in black marble and grease crayon on paper.

Mass: 43 x 37 cm

Despite his cosmopolitan way of living and working, it is themes from Not Vital's homeland that characterise his artistic work. His idiosyncratic oeuvre includes paintings, prints, objects and installations made of tangible materials such as gold, marble, glass, wood, but also beef tongues and cow dung. A touch of irony can thus be found in his works, as well as an always strong symbolic and mythological-sacral character.

Not Vital was born in Sent, Switzerland, in 1948. He studied at the Centre universitaire expérimental de Vincennes in Paris from 1968-69. Since 1970 Vital has travelled worldwide and worked internationally, since 1974 he has had a studio in New York. Not Vital is one of the leading international contemporary artists whose works have been exhibited in public spaces and, among others, at the Venice Biennale 2001, at the Galerie Urs Meile Beijing 2008 and at the Kunsthalle Wien 2009