At the Tate show, unframed works hang from the ceiling much like they do at the artist’s home studio. © Fred Dott. All photographs courtesy of Tate Liverpool.
Vivian Suter’s bio reads more like a travel diary than a CV. The Swiss-Argentine artist was born in Buenos Aires, moved to Basel when she was young, and ultimately settled in a scenic, lake-side town in the volcanic mountains of southwestern Guatemala called Panajachel. It is here that she transformed a former coffee plantation into her home and studio, but it’s more than five thousand miles away from this peaceful waterfront escape that the artist’s most recent works are currently on display.
Suter’s largest installation to date—Nisyros (Vivian’s Bed)—is at the UK’s Tate Liverpool through March 15. Her large-scale paintings are suspended from the ceiling, hanging like flags throughout the space, much like they do at her studio. This organic approach to curation is not dissimilar from the artist’s painting-style—colorful, loose, and full of movement. Surround yourself with Vivian Suter’s brushstrokes and we’re sure you’ll feel inspired to see the incredible tropical landscape that inspired them.
Nisyros (Vivian’s bed) 2016–17 © Courtesy of the artist and Karma International, Zurich and Los Angeles; Gladstone Gallery, New York and Brussels; House of Gaga, Mexico City; and Proyectos Ultravioleta, Guatemala City. All photographs courtesy of Tate Liverpool