Natacha Donzé

Natacha Donzé's seemingly abstract works are rich in associative visual references. The starting point of the current edition is a postcard from the 1960s or 1970s, executed with neon colors and flocked sections in the tradition of black light posters. The elating aesthetic of such fluorescent images, which is generally associated with the psychedelic subculture, inspired the artist to produce her edition in vibrant bright colors using screen printing and the technique of flocking. The motif is inspired by meteorological satellite images and other types of false color representations. With this enigmatic landscape, the artist evokes themes of climate change and severe weather disasters.

The blending of fragmentary elements from heterogeneous imagery such as that of popular culture, architecture, and science is a recurring aspect of Natacha Donzé's predominantly painterly practice. A certain sensuality prevails in Donzé's mysteriously seductive compositions, which also comes to the fore in the current edition through the saturated colors and the feel of the surfaces flocked with textile fibers. The use of this decorative finishing technique, rare in printmaking, reflects Natacha Donzé's curiosity about handicraft as well as her openness to expanding her artistic practice through new processes. By combining methods of execution with different connotations, Natacha Donzé questions our tendency to categorize in fine art, craft, and industry.

Natacha Donzé was awarded the Bourse culturelle of the Fondation Leenaards in 2018. The artist has solo exhibitions from May 13 to June 18 at Galerie Lange + Pult in Zurich and from August 21 to January 21 at Kunst(zeug)haus in Rapperswil-Jona. Her works are represented in the collections of the Musées des beaux-arts in La Chaux-de-Fonds, the City of Lausanne and the Swiss National Library, among others. VH