Nathalie du Pasquier

The French artist Nathalie du Pasquier has lived and worked in Milan since 1979.
Two years after she arrived in the city, Ettore Sottsass founded the design collective Memphis, whose riotous postmodern style – a collision of colours, forms and patterns – would help define the aesthetic of the new decade. At the time, Du Pasquier, who had no formal design training, was creating textile patterns for Italian fashion brands such as Fiorucci and Naj Oleari with the encouragement of her partner, George Sowden, who had worked with Sottsass at Olivetti. The pair was among the Memphis group’s original members. Du Pasquier’s graphic, exuberant patterns covered the surfaces of Memphis creations until 1987, when she decided to dedicate herself to painting. From the still lifes and surrealist-inflected landscapes of the late 1980s and early ’90s, her work has gradually moved towards more abstract compositions – many are paintings of constructions she has created herself. (She defines herself as ‘a painter who makes her own models’).
Earlier this year, ‘Big Game’, a solo exhibition of her works on paper, spanning more than 35 years, was held at Exile, Berlin, and a collection of her unpublished drawings from 1981–87, Don’t Take These Drawings Seriously, designed and edited by Omar Sosa, was published by powerHouse books in February.
Her work is on show at Exile as part of the group exhibition ‘Ausstellung 61’ until 10 October, with a further solo show to follow at the gallery in March 2016.