About Tassou Exhibition in Suvretta House 29.6-22.8 2013

Rémy Tassou is currently exhibiting a selection of his strikingly original works in Switzerland for the first time, and, rather appropriately, he has gone straight to the top, for this exposition is at no other than the prestigious Suvretta House Hotel in St Moritz at 6,043 above sea level.

On one other occasion a decade ago on the same premises, the German watchmaker Glashütte exhibited a selection of its time pieces and on view was a blown-up version of the workings of one of its products in all its mechanical glory.

Through its size it was quite impractical, but there was great beauty in its asymmetrical functionality.

It seems Tassou, too, knows what appeals the Swiss psyche, namely orderliness, precision, technology. For his works are functionless, too, yet they all appear as if they have been removed from some highly sophisticated piece of high-tech hardware. More than this, they exude a form of beauty alien to the natural world, but beautiful nevertheless.

The components used, often with slick, shiny surfaces, lend themselves very much to being used in works of art, providing them with a highly polished appearance as attractive as any cut jewel.
Old circuits and other electrical parts have all been carefully arranged to enable the viewer to forget their intended purpose and just concentrate on their simple beauty.

Some have been framed in traditional gilded frames, other works are free-standing like totem poles.

Either way, they would fit in with the most modern interior decor, or make a striking statement in more traditional surroundings. What is more, each one can look quite different depending on the way it is lit.

It is no wonder so many of Tassou's works have been sold in cities of such widely different cultural backgrounds as London, Kuwait, Moscow and Singapore.

The exhibitions at the Suvretta House Hotel continues until 21 August. Don't leave it too late.

Robert Hopkins, journalist