Opening September 13, at 6:30 p.m., the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) will present Nathalie Du Pasquier: ‘BIG OBJECTS NOT ALWAYS SILENT,’ a retrospective exploring the prolific creative practice of artist and designer Nathalie Du Pasquier. A founding member of the Italian design collective Memphis, Ms. Du Pasquier’s work across painting, sculpture, drawing, installation and design demonstrates a unique and considered interpretation of space and objects. The exhibition at ICA is co-curated by Alex Klein, the Dorothy and Stephen R. Weber (CHE ’60) Curator at ICA; and Luca Lo Pinto, curator at Kunsthalle Wien in Vienna, Austria, where the first iteration of the retrospective was initially conceived and presented by Mr. Lo Pinto last fall. 

Featuring more than 100 works spanning from the early 1980s to the present, including a number of new and never-before-seen pieces, the exhibition juxtaposes graphic patterns with abstracted, figurative paintings, creating a fully immersive environment that underscores the artist’s systematic dismantling of the hierarchy between design and fine art, and between three-dimensional form and two-dimensional representation. 

Nathalie Du Pasquier: ‘BIG OBJECTS NOT ALWAYS SILENT’ which is on view through December 23, will provide an all-encompassing experience of Ms. Du Pasquier’s aesthetic, organized in close coordination with the artist to demonstrate the seamless boundaries between functional and decorative objects in Ms. Du Pasquier’s practice. Across the space, still-life paintings depicting everyday objects and formal explorations will be installed against a backdrop of Ms. Du Pasquier’s wallpaper designs, juxtaposed with the sculptures, textiles and design objects that inspire her work in painting and illuminate her iterative process of creation. 

“We are thrilled to present the first comprehensive international survey of Nathalie Du Pasquier’s work in the United States,” commented Mr. Klein. “It has been an honor and a pleasure to work closely both with Nathalie herself and Luca Lo Pinto at Kunsthalle Wien to highlight the innovative, dynamic and prolific oeuvre of an artist whose work continues to grow in its influence across creative fields through both direct collaborations and through other artists inspired by her practice. The exhibition design, as envisioned by Nathalie, erases notions of hierarchy, disciplinary boundaries, and periodicity in a manner that is truly reflective of her ethos as an artist.” 

Images courtesy of Kunsthalle Wien and the ICA.