Swiss expressionist painter Fred Mou conjures his often nearly abstract compositions from an unusual combination of experiences: years spent working as an architect, and coastal areas visited during extensive travels all over the world. His sharp acrylic lines initially suggest illustration, and there is an architectural precision to their forms and their relationship to surrounding negative spaces. Nevertheless, the nautical scenes he often portrays are characterized by a dramatic fluctuation of forms, with geometric shapes and human figures floating above or amidst rolling waves and brightly hued, fluid color fields.
Though clearly inspired by marine life and scenes — fish and allegorical nautical figures appear frequently — Mou’s seascapes remain startlingly unconventional and surprising. The artist is comfortable mixing a vast range of tones, from bold combinations of neons and pastels, to more sparse and monochrome elements. Likewise, his forms combine a lexicon of well-defined lines at sharp angles with more organic, practically cellular curvilinear subjects. Mou paints a vast and superbly eclectic sea of difference.
My background as an architect has definitely informed my work as an artist; there’s an elegance that is important in architecture that makes its way into my art. Originally I also incorporated a firmer sense of structure, but in time I allowed my work to become more flexible, especially when reflecting my connection to nature. I have traveled around the world, and seen many different cultures, countries and continents and this has had a big impact on me, on how I see cultures and societies. The inspiration it gives me is reflected in my canvases, as is a sense of optimism which encourages my flying, dancing colors. All my experiences have become a part of my work and who I am – the beauty of the world, the wonder of the sky, and the light which provides the expression for the colors of our planet. In my art, I reach for the sublime.
