Cortege

About

NATACHA DONZÉ

CORTEGE

Opening October 9, 4pm - 9pm 36 rue d’Enghien, 75010 Paris

Parliament gallery is delighted to present the work of Swiss artist Natacha Donzé for the first exhibition in its programme, October 9th to November 20th 2020.

Natacha Donzé sees painting as a space where the shared references and notions of our era can be deconstructed using both ancient and contemporary iconographic elements. In a context in which information and images are both accessible and diffracted, the space of representation is normalised and homogenised by the system in which we operate. All our fantasies and feelings pass through the same channels, the same communication methods and the same flows.

Her work portrays fragments of institutional, political and commercial entities: architectural details from places of worship, administration or leisure, colours identified by a generation, energy drink logos etc. Her unique pictorial language evokes and then reconfigures the symbols and locations of our everyday lives.

Like two elements that destroy one another when brought together, these forms lose their functional dimensions as they meet in new configurations and replace their original conditions and purposes. With no need for explanation, her assemblies play on our ability to identify and contextualise. The classification process appears to be governed by new rules, according to which the painting becomes an interface between our own reality and a mental area of representation

Indirect reference is made to state and economic power structures. Monuments, logos and ritual objects are positioned alongside symbols codified by industry to evoke comfort and abundance. The paintings catalyse this notion of sanctified luxury, originally assimilated with power. The beauty of the compositions is structured by these codes drawn from mass communication strategies, and the observer is charmed by the seductive nature of the work.

However, this feeling of comfort is rapidly undermined by the underlying problems that are inherent in our society. Invoking these elements only to subvert, juxtapose or trigger a dialogue between them makes them feel totally foreign to us. They become enigmatic artefacts, vehicles of unknown rituals.

In a world where rationality reigns supreme, contemplating these unexplained forms lends them a deeply mystical character. The artist borrows the powers of attraction of ancient relics, restaging them in the new decorum of a neutral, tangible present.

“In the thick fog, flashes from telephones have replaced the flames of protests; processions swarm and sparkle like a star-studded sky. Only particles remain of these masses, shattered substances, carnival confetti, glossy debris, virtual residues... These incandescent particles bear witness to the processes of decomposition, burning and putrefaction, but also the dissolution of a concept. The dichotomy of the procession is obvious: festive celebration brings about destruction and ominous ceremony.”

Natacha Donzé (born in Switzerland in 1991); lives and works in Lausanne. Recent exhibitions include: Soft Shell, Kunsthaus Langenthal (2020); Duna Bianca, Galerie Dittrich & Schlechtriem, Berlin (2020); Biological Contentment, Hit, Geneva (2020); Kiefer Hablitzel exhibition, Kunsthaus Pasquart, Biel (2019); Life Savers, New York (2019); Bitter Benefits, Forde, Geneva (2019); The Empire and the Mansion, Milieu,Berne (2019); Cortèges, Lokal int, Biel Memorial Garden, Espace Quark, Geneva White Musk, Harpe45, Lausanne(2017).

36 rue d’Enghien, 75010 Paris Tuesday - Saturday,12am – 6pm contact@parliamentgallery.com

+336 759 824 43