GROUP EXHIBITION WITH CLAUDIA COMTE
WHAT IF WOMEN RULED THE WORLD?

ΕΜΣΤ NATIONAL MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART, ATHENS, GREECE
8 MARCH 2024 – 12 JANUARY 2025

The National Museum of Contemporary Art (EMΣT) presents a cycle of exhibitions, in four parts, exclusively dedicated to the work of women artists or artists who identify as female, under the broader umbrella title, WHAT IF WOMEN RULED THE WORLD? On 8 March 2024, International Women’s Day, Part II of the exhibition cycle inaugurates six new projects by five artists.

© Image by KÖNIG GALERIE

Claudia Comte's new commission for EMΣΤ, THE ORIGIN OF THE SHOCKWAVE RIPPLE EFFECT (YELLOW AND TURQUOISE), 2024, is a captivating wall painting that extends across a 30-metre corridor, seamlessly connecting the Museum's main area to its entrance foyer. The work exemplifies Comte's unique blend of traditional hand processes and modern technology, showcasing her affinity for organic patterns and morphology. Comte is renowned for her site-specific installations, paintings, and sculptures that often draw from nature's intricate designs, like waves, sonar patterns, cacti, and rock strata. Her works are not just visual feasts but immersive environments that invite viewers to engage and interpret. Comte’s works refer to popular culture, nature, cultural symbols, and art movements like Op art, Concrete art, and Pop art. Her wall paintings are computer-generated images inspired by natural forms. The patterns she chooses are developed digitally as the artist always starts by producing a rendering. Following this, she uses vinyl like a stencil and then she paints directly onto the wall.

Claudia Comte, THE ORIGIN OF THE SHOCKWAVE RIPPLE EFFECT (YELLOW AND TURQUOISE), 2024
Photo by Paris Tavitian © Studio Claudia Comte, 2024

THE ORIGIN OF THE SHOCKWAVE RIPPLE EFFECT (YELLOW AND TURQUOISE) is a vivid representation of Comte's artistic practice. The wall painting features an arresting ripple effect, pinched in the middle, creating a dynamic visual movement. This ripple wraps around a hollow body, producing contrasting perceptions on either side. Adding to its allure is a colour gradient flowing from turquoise to yellow, culminating in white, echoing the vibrancy and diversity of nature. It is an intricate dance of colours and forms that resonates with the Μuseum's landmark modernist architecture. The turquoise horizontal lines mimic the waves' movement, leading visitors through the space. These lines transform into a more linear form as they merge into the yellow zone, eventually culminating in a seed-like black-and-white motif. This artwork is not only a visual journey but also a metaphorical one. It symbolises the impact of today's decisions on nature, illustrating how even the smallest actions can create ripples of change, much like a water droplet creates infinite waves, inviting viewers to think about the environmental issues of our time. THE ORIGIN OF THE SHOCKWAVE RIPPLE EFFECT (YELLOW AND TURQUOISE) stands as a testament to Claudia Comte's persistence in creating art that is both visually stunning and thought-provoking. Blurring the lines between art, nature, and architecture Comte’s work offers visitors a unique visual and sensory experience.

Curated by Daphne Vitali.

FEATURED ARTIST

CLAUDIA COMTE
Claudia Comte (b. 1983 in Grancy, Switzerland) is an artist based in the countryside outside of Basel, Switzerland. She studied at the Ecole Cantonale d’Art de Lausanne, ECAL (2004-2007) followed by a Masters of Art in Science of Education at Haute Ecole Pédagogique, Visual Arts, Lausanne, Switzerland (2008-2010). 

Comte works between media, often combining sculptures or installations with wall paintings to create environments where works relate to each other with a visual rhythm that is both methodical and playful. Her work is defined by her interest in the memory of materials and by a careful observation of how the hand relates to d...
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