Bernard Piffaretti was born in 1955 in Saint-Etienne, France. He lives and works in Paris. Since 1986 Piffaretti has committed his practice to the "duplication method", abstract paintings that appear to be two identical halves split through the vertical axis. Closer inspection reveals moments of differentiation: the inclination of the brushstrokes, the number of drips, the weight of the hue. "The duplication clouds the origin of the time of the work. All supremacy is abolished, and that is the subject of my painting".

From 1974-79 Piffaretti studied at the École des Beaux-Arts, Saint-Etienne. His work has been the subject of solo museum exhibitions at the Frac Haute-Normandie, Rouen, France, 2010; Musée d' Art Moderne, Saint-Etienne, France, 2009; Musée Matisse, Le Cateau- Cambrésis, France, 2008; Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art/MAMCO, Geneva, Switzerland, 2007; Beaumont Public Gallery, Luxembourg, Germany, 2006; Sara Hilden Art Museum, Tampere, Switzerland, 2001; Cartier Foundation for Contemporary Art, Paris, France, 2000; and Villa Arson, Nice, France, 1991. He has also exhibited in group shows at the Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris; Hong Kong Museum; CAPC Museum of Contemporary Art, Bordeaux, France; Joan Miro Foundation, Barcelona, Spain; National Gallery of the Grand Palais, Paris, France; and Switzerland Museum of Fine Arts, Bern, Switzerland.