Fabienne CLAUSS, artist

Fabienne Clauss
“I am drawn to the edge, that which exists between the known and the unknown, between presence
and absence, between material and immaterial. I am after a certain something that is seldom revealed.
When we catch a glimpse of it, we are reminded that there is something beyond appearances and beyond
words. I embrace qualities of sobriety and silence. In my painting and drawing, I prefer the simple, the
humble which opens on to infinity.
In this vocabulary, I am seeking any light or transparency that helps the viewer to look beyond and become
immersed in a quiet and dematerialized field of vision, completely conscious of the viewing process.
It is a great joy for me to lose myself in the process of creation and be surprised by the beauty of the
result. I get started on a work and then try to remove my conscious self, remove my volition, and just
merely allow my hands and the materials find their own collaborative expression. Just as in the natural
world, haphazard action leads to unexpected beauty which is difficult to replicate. Discovery comes from
doing, not from thinking – from allowing, not from controlling.”
«Attirée par l’arête qui existe entre le connu et l’inconnu, la présence et l’absence, le matériel et l’immatériel,
je recherche ce quelque chose qui est rarement révélé, au-delà des apparences, des mots, des traces, des
riens.
Je privilégie la sobriété et le silence. Je préfère la poésie du petit, du simple qui ouvre vers l’infini.
Utilisant un vocabulaire simplifié, je traque la lumière, la transparence qui nous aide à regarder au-delà et
qui invite le spectateur à vivre une expérience, à s’immerger dans un champ visuel dématérialisé, complètement conscient du processus de vision.
C’est une grande joie pour moi de me perdre dans le processus de création et d’être surprise par le résultat. Quand je commence un travail, j’essaie de retirer ma volonté et de laisser mes mains et les matériaux
que j’utilise collaborer. Tout comme dans la nature, le hasard crée une beauté inattendue, unique, difficile à
reproduire. La découverte vient de l’action, pas de la pensée, du laisser-faire, plutôt que du contrôle.»
Fabienne Clauss
Infinite Vertigo, 2005
Acrylic gouache on gessoed panel, 14 x 18x12.5 cm, 14 x 5x7 in.
Left:
Untitled, 2007
Acrylic on linen
60x60 cm, 24x24 in.
Right:
Untitled, 2008
Acrylic on cotton,
40x30 cm, 16x12 in.
Triptyque, 2008
Acrylic on cotton, 3X 40x30 cm, 3X 16x12 in.
Untitled, 2008
Acrylic on cotton, 120x200 cm, 47x78 in.
Left:
Untitled, 2009
Acrylic on cotton, 60x60 cm, 24x24 in.
Right:
Untitled, 2009
Acrylic on cotton, 120x200 cm, 47x78 in.
Untitled, 2007
Japanese ink on paper,
76x56 cm, 30x22 in.
Left:
Untitled, 2007
Japanese ink on paper, 76x56 cm, 30x22 in.
Right:
Untitled, 2007
Japanese ink on paper, 76x56 cm, 30x22 in.
Left:
Blue VI, 2012
Oil, plaster gesso on panel,110x110 cm, 43x43in.
Right:
Blue I, 2005
Oil, plaster gesso on panel, 60x60 cm, 24x24 in.
Left:
Blue II, 2005
Oil, plaster gesso on panel, 60x60 cm, 24x24 in.
Right:
Blue VII, 2012
Oil, plaster gesso on panel, 110x110 cm, 43x43 in.
Left:
Blue V, 2012
Oil, plaster gesso on panel, 110x110 cm, 43x43 in.
Right:
Blue VIII, 2012
Oil, plaster gesso on panel, 15x15 cm, 6x6 in.
Blue IX, 2012
Oil, plaster gesso on panel, 15x15 cm, 6x6 in.
Blue X, 2012
Oil, plaster gesso on panel, 15x15 cm, 6x6 in.
Untitled, 2011
Japanese ink on Arches paper, 10x10 cm, 4x4 in.
Untitled, 2011
Japanese ink on Arches paper, 20x20 cm, 8x8 in.
Untitled, 2011
Japanese ink on Arches paper, 10x10 cm, 4x4 in.
Untitled, 2011
Japanese ink on Arches paper, 20x20 cm, 8x8 in.
Untitled, 2011
Pigment inkjet print on paper, 50x50 cm, 20x20 in.
Untitled, 2006
Pigment inkjet print on paper, 50x50 cm, 30x30 in.
Untitled, 2006
Pigment inkjet print on paper, 50x50 cm, 30x30 in.
Untitled, 2011
Pigment inkjet print on paper, 50x30 cm, 20x12 in.
Untitled, 2011
Pigment inkjet print on paper, 50x30 cm, 20x12 in.
Fabienne Clauss
Born in Paris, France. Has lead an international
career at management level until 2003. Engaged in full-time practice of the arts since then.
French and Swiss citizen. Lives and works in
Switzerland.
Née à Paris, France. Elle a mené une carrière internationale dans l’entreprise de 1979 à 2003. Depuis,
elle se consacre exclusivement à une activité artistique. Franco-suisse, elle vit et travaille en Suisse.
SOLO
EXHIBITIONS
2012 Galerie Michel Foëx, Geneva, Switzerland.
2008 Galerie Favre /Art Actuel, Nyon, Switzerland.
GROUP
EXHIBITIONS
2007 December Show, School of Museum of the Fine Arts, Boston.
2006 Kiki Smith Medal Award Dinner, a juried student exhibition and auction. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
Graphite plus Two, BF Gallery, Boston.
Student Annual exhibition, School of Museum of the Fine Arts, Boston.
Honorable mention for the Dana Pond Painting award.
2005 Jim Dine Medal Award Dinner, a student exhibition and auction. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
Terra Incognita, BAG Gallery, School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Commissaire de l’exposition.
Open Studios, School of Museum of the Fine Arts, Boston.
2004 Post-Baccalaureate Exhibition, School of Museum of the Fine Arts, Boston.
Ceruleum Exhibition, Geneva, Switzerland.
PUBLICATION
2010 La Grande Neige, Editions de L’Astronome.
ART
EDUCATION
2005-2006 Diploma, School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, USA.
2004-2006 Graduate Credit Courses in History of Art, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA.
2003-2004 Ceruleum Painting and Drawing School in Geneva, Switzerland.
1996-2003 Atelier St-Jean Damascène, St-Jean-en-Royans, France.
In private collections in USA, Italy, France and Switzerland.
Design: Sylvie Wavre Houman, ohcarré new media
Photographs: Didier Jordan, Fabienne Clauss, Christian Clauss, Galerie Favre/Art actuel
Production: Imprimerie G. Chapuis, Geneva, Swizerland
Published in May 2012 for the exhibition at the Galerie Michel Foëx, Geneva, Switzerland,
May 9-June 23, 2012.
www.fabienneclauss.com