Frieze London 2016

Duo Exhibition
Stand H21
Frieze Focus London, UK

Hidden from plain site and tucked away under dense tropical vegetation, off the shores of Lake Atitlán -a lake between three volcanos in Guatemala-, lies the home and studios of mother and daughter Elisabeth Wild (Vienna, 1922) and Vivian Suter (Buenos Aires, 1949).

In 1982, as a promising emerging artist in Basel, Suter left Switzerland and never looked back. She booked a one way ticket to Los Angeles, and pursued her dream of travelling through Central and South America. Yet, after having trekked through Mexico, she came across Lake Atitlán, which immediately captured her heart and became her new home. A year later, in 1983, after having relocated her practice as a painter, it was her mother, Wild who came to visit. Also captivated by the lushness of the landscape, and encouraged by her daughter, Wild relocated to Lake Atitlan and bought a large plot of land where they were both to build their permanent home and studios.

For over 35 years, whilst being sheltered away from their inn and outs of the art world, they each worked prolifically. Suter developed a rich practice in painting. Her canvases are an ongoing exploration of nature and landscape, through bold and gestural brushwork that is evocative of abstract expressionism. Yet, what sets her work apart is her attempt to take this inspiration from nature further, ‘collaborating’ with it. This was established after her studio was flooded by Hurricanes Stan (2005) and Agatha (2010), and much of her paintings were soiled – she realised then that this was nature’s way of working on her canvases. Since that incident, she often leaves her canvases out in the open, whether laying flat in the ground or hung from a tree, where they are intervened by sun, rain, mud, wind, and the occasional mango or avocado that falls over them.

Wild, who trained as a painter and textile designer, has excelled in collage-making ever since her physical mobility was reduced, a few decades ago. Her bright lapidarian collages with their free-flowing compositions are as bold and full of life as they are daring. Using magazines as source material, she is able to create unique worlds through each of her meticulous works, all of which are very personal and intimate in size (hardly ever exceeding the 8 1/2 x 11” format).

Proyectos Ultravioleta’s presentation at Frieze Focus aims to showcase the unique work of both Wild and Suter, whilst shedding light on their personal mother/daughter relationship. Specifically, through a dynamic and asymmetrical hang of some of Wild’s most recent collage in the booth’s walls, whilst a group of 13 of Suter’s canvases are suspended in the center of the booth, unstretched. As a result, visitors will be able to have a unique pictorial experience of navigating in and around Suter’s abstract paintings, while being surrounded by Wild’s intimate and contemplative collages.