Rémy Zaugg was born in 1943, in Courgenay, Switzerland. He lived and worked in Pfastatt, France and Basel, Switzerland, until his death in 2005.

Zaugg is primarily known as a conceptual artist. He played an important role as both a critic and observer of contemporary culture, especially with regards to the perception of space and architecture. He believed sight and consciousness to be effectively linked and worked with the meaning of text and words as subjects in his paintings. His works used language in a fragmented way to convey that which is most critical for a human, being seen by the other. Throughout his practice there was a desire to make the viewer aware of the perceptive tools that each person possesses. He put great emphasis on the space that emerges between the work of art, the viewer and the context. Zaugg also took a strong interest in language and its power to deconstruct and reconstruct new contexts. Zaugg was active in a number of different mediums, among others painting, text, sculpture and architectural designs.