Franz Roth

Born the
1st of October 1956 in the district of Berne, Switzerland, Franz Roth graduated
from the school of Fine Arts in Bienne. His love of travel was born from
experiences accompanying his father – who sold Swiss cheeses in Italy – while he
was very young. During these excursions he also discovered art, visiting
galleries and museums in the towns they passed through. His work took on a
divine dimension inspired by his travels and the beauty of the everyday,
lending his canvases celestial allure. Seas, deserts, lush green countryside: Roth
sees a divine dimension in every instant, in every space. 

In 1975 he
went to Mexico where he met the lithographer Leo Acosta, whose workshop he worked
and studied in for seven years. He returned to his native Switzerland for a few
years before leaving again in 1986, then travelled to India and the USA –
eventually heading back to Mexico to take up residence in a ghost town, in Real
de Catorce (San Luis Potosi). There, he would live in harmony with nature,
withdrawn from the world and totally immersed in the divine manifestations and sacred
elements of the everyday. The celestial dimension that touches much of his work
came from lived experience: discoveries, love, war, his connections, the
relationships he forged… they all took on an eternality. Nevertheless, throughout
his travels he maintained a close connection to Switzerland, and eventually he
made the choice to return there for good. He is inspired by Chagall and Bosch, but also by Surrealism. His works have been exhibited in various galleries.