Obituary: influential Swiss graphic artist Roger Pfund
Roger Pfund, who has died aged 80, was a globally renowned Swiss painter, graphic artist and designer, famous for his designs of international banknotes and the Swiss passport.
In Switzerland Roger Pfund is perhaps best known for his innovative, colourful designs for the Swiss passport, introduced in 2003. His idea was for each of the 26 cantons to have its own page with a coat of arms and a landmark.
But his speciality was banknotes, both Swiss and foreign. His modern use of colour, traditional images and computer technology ushered in a new era for currency design.
Born in Bern on December 28, 1943, to Swiss and French parents, Pfund started out as a jazz musician, playing double bass in a jazz trio. But an interest in art led to an apprenticeship with the graphic designer Kurt Wirth in Bern in 1966. He later set up his own studio in the Swiss capital, before moving to Geneva where he developed his business.
Video: Swiss public television, RTS, archive footage of Swiss graphic artist Roger Pfund.
The unknown artist’s career took off in 1971 when he was invited to design a new series of notes for the Swiss National Bank (SNB). His designs were for the 1984 seventh reserve series and were not actually used. They were kept in the SNB vaults and would have been used if existing notes in circulation had been counterfeited on a mass scale.
But his design work led to growing fame, and some of his foreign banknotes did make it into circulation. These included the last series of French franc bills in the 1980s before the switch to the euro, one of which featured Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s Little Prince character, and the Argentinian notes with Eva “Evita” Peron, the former first lady of Argentina, activist and actress.
Too avant-garde
He went on to win two competitions organised in 1996 by the European Monetary Institute (EMI) to design the new euro banknotes. But some felt his versions were too avant-garde, and the project was finally handed to the Austrian Robert Kalina.
“The banknote must be beautiful, colourful and tell a story. It is the cultural ambassador of a country,” Pfund explained in 2013 during an exhibition at the Musée d’art et d’histoire (MAH) in Geneva.
With his vast knowledge of currency design and security techniques, Pfund became an important adviser for central banks such as the SNB.
When it came to graphic design, he seemed to be able to turn his hand to almost anything: posters and books, Swiss stamps, Swiss REKA checks (a community currency), Credit Suisse debit cards and even tax return documents.
From painting to sculpture
During his 50-year career, Pfund developed many other talents, such as painting, sculpture and architecture.
Painting was a constant thread. He created a series of portraits of icons such as Maria Callas, Arthur Rimbaud and Marcel Proust that demonstrated his mastery of colour and other techniques.
The Swiss-French dual national was also active in training future artists. He created an international network of graphic designers that enabled young designers to continue their training in various ateliers in Europe over a period of four years.
Pfund received various international prizes and honours for his work, including France’s prestigious Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 2022. His work was exhibited around the world, including China, Europe, the US and Africa.
Swiss Culture Minister Elisabeth Baume-Schneider said he had been a “leading figure in the Swiss design world”.
“His creations were a masterly expression of his desire to speak to each and every one of us,” she tweeted on Sunday.
‘Complete artist’
Geneva’s culture minister, Sami Kanaan, also praised Pfund’s creativity, describing him as a “complete artist” who had been “extremely talented in the use of different techniques”.
In Geneva Pfund also installed a huge metal sculpture on the Palais des Nations square in front of the United Nations European headquarters to mark the 50th anniversary of the global body.
“We know that the Eiffel Tower was built to only last a short time, and it’s still there… we can hope,” he said.
Pfund’s small Eiffel Tower ended up having to be dismantled. But as an artist, his immense body of work and influence look certain to stand the test of time.
Despite working closely with money and his artistic success, Pfund experienced financial problems and his Geneva graphic design studio, which had moved from Carouge to Plainpalais and employed 20 people, eventually went bankrupt in 2016.
Roger Pfund had not been in good shape for several years, his son Tristan Pfund told the Swiss News Agency Keystone-ATS. He died of complications on March 16 following an infection.
Edited by Mark Livingston/ts
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