trunk and faces

The young Swiss painter Nicolas Party (* 1980, Lausanne) moves consistently between the extremes in the spectrum of painting. On the one hand, in his paintings and pastel drawings he is exclusively connected to the classic genres of still life, landscape and portrait and is formally reminiscent of the 20th century and artists such as Matisse, Picasso, Morandi and Botero. What we can see in the pictures are plants, figures and various objects. But these subjects are always alienated into the unrealistic-surreal at a party. The casting of shadows is impossible, the plant is a pure invention, the gender of the portrayed is never clear. Nothing depicted ever comes to the edge of his canvas, his universe.

On the other hand there are parties huge murals, which show a clear affinity to graffiti, or his ‘Performance Dinners’, for which he designed all the furniture including dishes and menu. The exhibition at the Westfälischer Kunstverein is Nicolas Party’s first solo show in Germany, for which the artist has produced a series of new works: large-format pastel drawings of plants, shrill double portraits of young men in polo shirts, painted porcelain plates and a monumental herd of elephants – works between sculpture and architecture – the populate the showroom. The glass front of the Kunstverein foyer also encourages Nicolas Party to behave artistically. The title “Trunks and Faces” keeps what it promises in its intended multiple meanings: elephant trunks, tree trunks, faces, back and front views.

The exhibition at the Westphalian Art Association is Nicolas Party’s first solo show in Germany, for which the artist has produced a series of new works: large-format pastel drawings of plants, shrill double portraits of young men in polo shirts, painted porcelain plates and a monumental herd of elephants – works between sculpture and architecture – the populate the showroom.

Curator: Kristina Scepanski