Suter finds inspiration in Abstract Expressionism, colour theory, and most of all, her natural surroundings. Based in Guatemala for the past thirty years, Suter frequently draws on the environment around her by gesturally referencing the sun, rain, wind, and trees throughout her work and tactically incorporating eroded dirt, animal life, rain water, and plant matter onto the untreated surfaces of her canvases. A disruption of material hierarchy, Suter places the components of her studio on equal footing with the biological world.

The installation continues the artist’s investigation of using the painted medium to create a three- dimensional experience. The walls, ceiling, stairwell, and floor all find activation through the unique placement of unstretched canvases that simultaneously highlight and conceit the rectilinear components of the exhibition space. While each work is created as an individual, their pairings and compositions in the gallery allow the paintings to continually and infinitely find new relevance and importance. This permission for recontextualisation similarly democratises Suter’s work for all viewers, allowing different permutations and transformations with each new installment of the artist’s paintings.

Vivian Suter was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina; studied in Basel, Switzerland; and currently lives and works in Panajachel, Guatemala. Solo exhibitions of the artist’s work have been held at numerous international institutions, including: Kunstmuseum Luzern, Switzerland; Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, Madrid; Bruecke Museum, Berlin; Camden Arts Centre, London; Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston; Tate Liverpool, United Kingdom; MUDAM, Luxembourg; The Power Plant, Toronto; Art Institute of Chicago, Illinois; Jewish Museum, New York; Kunsthalle Basel, Switzerland; Kunstmuseum Olten, Switzerland; and Kunstmuseum des Kantons Thurgau, Kartause Ittingen, Warth, Switzerland.