Fusionism - The Code

“There's no such thing as a flat surface.”

This unusual sentence is one that anyone researching the works of the artist Dave – or his art form, fusionism – will inevitably encounter. What it means is that everything which we usually consider to be flat turns out to be three-dimensional when sufficiently magnified. If, after having heard this phrase, you then look at an artwork by Dave – which one doesn't matter – it becomes evident that this sentence isn't the result of semantic pettiness, but carries within itself the artistic and philosophical base of fusionism.


Fusionism is the union of sculpture, painting, people and media. Dave creates three-dimensional reliefs and sculptures and adorns them with two-dimensional images, which are visible only when viewed from a specific angle. Depending on which side you look at a fusionist artwork from, you may see completely different images. The spaces between these visual episodes are filled with abstract shapes, a wild dance of untamed colours.

There is no limit to the amount of images that Dave can hide within one object. The observer is forced to move around in front of it in order to discover the paintings – and in the spaces in between, he discovers countless new images that are visible only to his eye. He no longer just takes in what the artist has placed there for him to see, but becomes – through his movement and his active searching for new images – the co-creator of the artistic result he sees.

Dave's goal is to make the observer aware of new ways of seeing. He challenges the observer to find his own unique view, to make up his own mind.

This challenge isn't exclusively artistic: The core thought of fusionism is applicable in everyday life as well. A multitude of aspects and views exist for every subject, and which one it is you perceive most strongly is a consequence of your personal standpoint. In life, too, there's no such thing as a flat surface.

Dave, who was born in 1969 near Laufen in Switzerland and held the job of stonemason before becoming a full-time artist, grew beyond the limits of the two-dimensional just over 10 years ago, right at the start of his artistic career – and this wasn't the last border he would cross. It wasn't long before he proved himself to be an artist of international format.

That the fusionist challenge didn't fall on deaf ears became evident soon enough. Working with FIFA, Dave created artworks for the football world cups of 1998, 2002 and 2006, and had them signed by all players of both final teams – something unheard of both art and sports history. His works have been exhibited in Berlin, Frankfurt, Athens and New York as well as in his native Switzerland. His performance "The Fall of Athens", held before the backdrop of the Acropolis in Athens, was reported on by news outlets around the world – a media success he topped a few months later with the follow-up performance "Hope or Hype", held at Berlin's world-famous Brandenburg gate. Only weeks after that, a third performance, titled "Funeral", took place before the background of the Art Basel 2009 art fair.

All of Dave's activities since late 2008 have taken place under the heading of "fusion journey".