This week in Paris, Whitewall Projects presents its first-ever group exhibition in Paris. Coinciding with Art Basel Paris, and just minutes from the Grand Palais, the show, “From Nature” takes over a classic Parisian apartment on 37 Roosevelt 75008 Paris. Curated by Emma Donnersberg, Marion Guggenheim, and Nicolas Dewavrin, it includes the work of artists Fabien Adèle, Louis Alcaraz, Apollinaria Broche, Mia Chaplin, Eugénie Didier, Daria Dmytrenko, DRIFT, Sasha Ferré, Pandora Graessl, Rafael Y. Herman, Alexandre Lenoir, William Macnad, Ileana García Magoda, Kami Mierzvvinsk, Roman Moriceau, Maho Nakamura. The show is staged with design by Donnersberg, lighting by Flos, and scents by Diptyque, and is on view through October 19.
For the accompanying catalog, published by Whitewall, artist Sasha Ferré spoke with us about her practice. Ferré received an MA in Painting from the Royal College of Art, London; a BFA in Integrated Studio Art program from the Cornish College of the Arts, Seattle; and a BA in Art History at La Sorbonne University, Paris. Her paintings respond to nature not by seeking to depict it but by letting it be felt. The artist lives in the gap between landscapes and abstraction, where she unfolds a world of foliage, waves, flames, and corals that we can no longer see but would once more need to touch. “Sasha Ferré does not see her paintings. Or at least she cannot see them when she is working: her hands are full of colors, she is fully immersed in the act of blending oils and caressing the material she handles. Sasha Ferré does not see her paintings, and yet she only works in the daytime as she craves natural light,” writes Cédric Fauq.
Sasha Ferré, Is that an attitude for a flower, 2024, oil stick and tempera on wood panel, 160 x 130 cm, photo by Nicolas Brasseur, courtesy of the artist and Almine Rech.
WHITEWALL: How would you describe your creative practice?
SASHA FERRÉ: I am a painter. I work on large free canvases, laid on the studio floor, using handmade oil sticks composed of pure pigment, linseed oil, and natural waxes. I stroke this material with my hands to create paintings. In my practice, everything happens directly within the space of the canvas. The usual preparatory steps like drawing or color mixing all take place on the very canvas, and the painting grows from there. I never know what the painting will eventually look like as most of my work is performed and improvised directly onto the surface. I improvise with matter, touch, and color, responding to those rhythms and sensations provided by the music played in the studio. Through my specific process, I witness colors’ desire to meet, melt, and fuse, giving birth to unpredicted shapes and spaces.
WW: How do you see your work in relation to nature?
SF: To me, there is no conflict between imagination and nature. When I paint I dissolve myself to become the wind caressing the grass, the sun’s beams mirroring on the surface of water, I become swarms of clouds, birds flying. I guess my work sits in this liminal space where imagination and nature meet. When I paint, I bring memories of those sensations experienced when hiking outdoors, paddling, or swimming.
“To me, there is no conflict between imagination and nature.”
—Sasha Ferré
I see my paintings behaving as a crowd, a flock of heterogeneous elements engaged in a rhythmic movement; the effect of the wind on leaves, on grass, the shimmering of light on the surface of water. How the elements, wind, air, light affect and move objects in nature. In a way, my paintings function as meta-organisms. They embody the idea of collective sentience.
Because I paint directly onto the ground, I engage my whole body and not just my hands in the process. It is a way to reconnect with the ground, and symbolically with Earth. David Abram writes that as humans we’re all attracted to Earth. I find this idea quite beautiful.
Sasha Ferré, Is that an attitude for a flower, 2024, oil stick and tempera on wood panel, 160 x 130 cm, photo by Nicolas Brasseur, courtesy of the artist and Almine Rech.
Sasha Ferré Finds Inspiration in the Poetry of Louise Glück
WW: Can you tell us about the work that will be on view in the exhibition?
SF: The painting is titled Is that an attitude for a flower? It’s borrowed from a fragment of poetry by the late American poet Louise Glück. It is an oil painting on a wood panel. I made it last winter in my studio in Paris. The color palette is earthy, greenish, and deep. There is a fluid, sensual quality to it. It is evocative of vegetal life, with a wetness to it. The energy coming from the gesture is gracious and decisive at the same time.
As a viewer you’re free to focus your attention on the movement of the gesture that the painting retains, the sensuality of touch, the feeling of viscosity, and the light brought by the lighter color patches. Or you can start imagining and feeling the smells and sensations that this painting will evoke, the smell of wet grass or the movement of a flower in the wind. To me that’s the beauty of abstraction, it empowers you as a viewer. It unlocks your imagination and gives you authorship in a way.
WW: Can you tell us about your studio?
SF: My studio is vast and airy. It has a very high semi-circular ceiling. Although it is set in Paris, in the middle of an urban environment, I can see trees and large portions of the sky from my windows. I enjoy having a view of the adjacent green roof’s vegetation as I observe their growth throughout the year and various weathers.
The studio is filled with two different kinds of natural light throughout the course of the day. There is the morning light on one side of the studio and the afternoon light on the other side of the studio. I tend to use these light differences by moving around the studio and working here or there. In a way in the studio, I witness every day the movement of the earth in relation to the sun.
The floor is covered with multiple unstretched painted canvases. The walls too are covered with painted canvases that are simply pinned to the wall and piling up on top of each other. The studio floor is covered by my collection of oil sticks in various stages of use. It can get quite messy and you have to watch where you step.
Portrait courtesy of the artist and Almine Rech.
Sasha Ferré on Her Paris Studio
WW: What is a typical day like for you there?
SF: When I arrive at the studio in the morning the first thing I do is put on some music. I spend time looking at the paintings I worked on the day before. Then, usually after a cup of coffee, I would prepare the floor for the painting I’ll make that day. Then I start painting and spend the day doing that.
When the energy is good I can start two paintings on the same day. Especially if I’m happy with the first painting I made. I will try to retain that sensation and energy and prolong it into another one. Most times it won’t work [laughs].
Sasha Ferré, Is that an attitude for a flower, 2024, oil stick and tempera on wood panel, 160 x 130 cm, photo by Nicolas Brasseur, courtesy of the artist and Almine Rech.
