ART CITIES:Luxembourg-Vivian Suter

Vivian Suter, Nisyros, 2017, Oil, volcanic material, earth, botanical matter, and microorganisms on canvas, Seventeen canvases Collection Mudam Luxembourg – Acquisition 2018, View of the presentation at Filopappou Hill as part of documenta 14, Athens, © Photo: Stathis MamalakisVivian Suter was born in Buenos Aires, the daughter of Austrian refugees who fled the Nazis in the 1930s. Her family returned to Europe in 1962 when she was a teenager, settling in Basel, Switzerland, where she studied art before traveling throughout North and Central America and settling in Panajachel, Guatemala, a small town in the northeastern part of the country that has been her home base ever since. Her paintings often respond to the lush vegetation and vista views in her surroundings.

By Dimitris Lempesis
Photo: Mudam Luxembourg Archive

Vivian Suter’s studios are open-air wooden structures located amid the lush rainforest. Here, the backdrop of trees, vibrant flowers, and sounds of tropical birds serves as inspiration for Suter’s abstract paintings. The colurs, motifs, and movement of her brushstrokes are influenced by organic shapes, with a palette that ranges from various shades of green to dominant reds and yellows. In 2005 a tropical storm destroyed large parts of Panajachel and flooded one of Suter’s studios resulting in damage to her works. However, the artist decided to purposefully leave her canvases outdoors, embracing the influence of nature. Allowing the tropical climate to become an active agent in the creation of the work, the paintings incorporate natural substances such as volcanic and botanical matter as well as micro-organisms. Occasionally, remnants of the surrounding landscape can be found in her paintings – leaves or twigs congealed onto batches of thick paint, or random imprints of her dog’s paws. “Nisyros” (2017) series is one of Vivian Suter’s most significant works. Commissioned for documenta 14 in Athens, the work was acquired by Mudam for its collection in 2018.  Titled after the volcanic Greek island in the Aegean Sea where Suter painted it, the entire work comprises 20 canvases, painted with luminous color and an energy that echoes the circumstances of their creation. Made ‘in’ nature at various locations on the island, including the volcanic crater, the cliff edge and on the rooftop of her house overlooking the sea, the paintings bear traces of the elements, reflecting the ambient light and colors in the landscape of Nisyros. The work is intended to be edited and installed according to the space available, be it a simple, open shelter in the park of the Acropolis, as it was first shown in Athens, or, at Mudam, in response to the hexagonal, light-filled space of the museum’s Pavilion Gallery, where they are presented in a new configuration in which the visitor walks amongst the paintings as if through the landscape itself.

Info: Mudam Luxembourg – Musée d’Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean3 Park Dräi , Eechelen, Luxembourg-Kirchberg, Duration: 25/5-15/9/19, Days & Hours: Mon & Thu-Sun 10:00-18:00, Wed 10:00-21:00, www.mudam.lu

Vivian Suter, Nisyros, 2017, Oil, volcanic material, earth, botanical matter, and microorganisms on canvas, Seventeen canvases Collection Mudam Luxembourg – Acquisition 2018, View of the presentation at Filopappou Hill as part of documenta 14, Athens, © Photo: Stathis Mamalakis
Vivian Suter, Nisyros, 2017, Oil, volcanic material, earth, botanical matter, and microorganisms on canvas, Seventeen canvases Collection Mudam Luxembourg – Acquisition 2018, View of the presentation at Filopappou Hill as part of documenta 14, Athens, © Photo: Stathis Mamalakis

 

 

Vivian Suter, Nisyros, 2017, Oil, volcanic material, earth, botanical matter, and microorganisms on canvas, Seventeen canvases Collection Mudam Luxembourg – Acquisition 2018, View of the presentation at Filopappou Hill as part of documenta 14, Athens, © Photo: Stathis Mamalakis
Vivian Suter, Nisyros, 2017, Oil, volcanic material, earth, botanical matter, and microorganisms on canvas, Seventeen canvases Collection Mudam Luxembourg – Acquisition 2018, View of the presentation at Filopappou Hill as part of documenta 14, Athens, © Photo: Stathis Mamalakis

 

 

Vivian Suter, Nisyros, 2017, Oil, volcanic material, earth, botanical matter, and microorganisms on canvas, Seventeen canvases Collection Mudam Luxembourg – Acquisition 2018, View of the presentation at Filopappou Hill as part of documenta 14, Athens, © Photo: Stathis Mamalakis
Vivian Suter, Nisyros, 2017, Oil, volcanic material, earth, botanical matter, and microorganisms on canvas, Seventeen canvases Collection Mudam Luxembourg – Acquisition 2018, View of the presentation at Filopappou Hill as part of documenta 14, Athens, © Photo: Stathis Mamalakis

 

 

Vivian Suter, Nisyros, 2017, Oil, volcanic material, earth, botanical matter, and microorganisms on canvas, Seventeen canvases Collection Mudam Luxembourg – Acquisition 2018, View of the presentation at Filopappou Hill as part of documenta 14, Athens, © Photo: Stathis Mamalakis
Vivian Suter, Nisyros, 2017, Oil, volcanic material, earth, botanical matter, and microorganisms on canvas, Seventeen canvases Collection Mudam Luxembourg – Acquisition 2018, View of the presentation at Filopappou Hill as part of documenta 14, Athens, © Photo: Stathis Mamalakis