Love brought artist Rich Bott to Switzerland and the canton of Graubünden. Since then, the American has been fascinated and inspired by the Swiss mountains and folklore, which he effortlessly blends with the American culture that has shaped him. Hollywood, consumerism and rock music combine with cowbells and alpine spirit. What seems incompatible at first glance becomes a lovingly enigmatic cultural clash in Rich Bott’s work. Traditional craftsmanship and modern digital technology, authenticity, ethnic kitsch and Californian lifestyle, Swiss mythology and American film merge into a kind of new cultural memory. At the vernissage, Rich Bott, alias Sir Earl Bott, will present a multimedia installation and performance with elements of show, music, video and digital painting.
Cyril Kuhn, the Swiss expatriate in L.A., has been invited by Rich Bott to exhibit with him at the message salon in Perla-Mode. The two artists met a few years ago in Los Angeles and subsequently became neighbours and friends. Cyril Kuhn is bringing new paintings from California. Dark masks and animals, creatures from an alpine past, haunt the streets of Hollywood.