Frederic Walperswyler

Born in Boudry, canton of Neuchâtel, Switzerland, in 1944. From 1978 to 1998, to paint and to be at sea were one harmonious experience for Frederic. Existentially, both sailing and painting were essential. Without them, Walperswyler says, he could not have survived. There was a break from painting between 1998 and 2007 because of a combination of multiple factors. One of these was his significantly important move from one continent to another. Beginning in the fall of 2007, in his studio in Stonington, Connecticut, he is back to what he calls “his pictorial sailing”. Painting and sailing remain the core of his work and his life. In the past, Walperswyler’s painting offered a perspective from which he would anticipate sailing. Today, his painting experience is enriched by other influences. Books and writing have become the third element of his survival. Books, the Sea, and Painting form the chronology in the need “to do”. In reading, the impact of a story leads to a discovery which, for Walperswyler, in turn generates and promotes his best creative work in the studio. On his list of most influential writers are Michel Serres, Jacques Lacarrière, Philippe Sollers, Wajdi Mouawad, Cormac McCarthy, Claudio Magris, Annie Ernaux, Arturo Pérez-Reverte… www.artnet.ch/walperswyler