Vivian Suter exhibition, ‘Tintin’s Sofa’ at Camden Arts Centre…

The last exhibition I went to before the world went into lockdown was at Camden Arts Centre, showcasing the painted fabrics of Argentine-Swiss artist Vivian Suter. A series of rooms with unprimed, unstretched canvases hanging from the ceiling, mimicking the overgrown tropical jungle of Panajachel, Guatemala where Suter lives and works. Her painted mix media works are inspired by the wild forests that surround her home and studio, gestural brush strokes evoke the changing weather, tropical plants and flowers.

In 2005 a tropical storm caused a flood which swept through her studio, ruining all her paintings. However Suter saw this as a turning point within her creative practice, inspired by the resulting imperfect, spontaneous marks added to these paintings from the water. From then on Suter has decided to leave her painted works outside, exposed to the elements, at one with nature and absorbing the surrounding environment. This exhibition shows the organic results, the Guatemala jungle etched onto the surface of each painting.