Studio Visit and Current Exhibition:
Marie Vieli, Peintures et Papiers
Musée d´art et d´histoire, Fribourg
Rue de Morat, 12
CH- 1700, Fribourg, Switzerland

sans titre acrylique sur toile 145 x 115 cm

diptyque acrylique sur toile 130 x 257 cm

papier barcelone dessin/collage sur papier 29,5 x 42 cm

It is difficult to find color during the winter, where in most places in the world there is a grey overcast that infects everything and everyone with its drabness. This is particularly true in Fribourg, Switzerland, which is, although an extraordinarily beautiful, excellently-preserved medieval city, particularly grey in the wintertime, what with its grey buildings and its snow-covered alps on the horizon. If you are fortunate, you may spot some daring person sporting a red coat or a yellow hat on the Rue de Lausanne. Beyond that, if you wish to see vibrant color in winter in Switzerland, you often have to seek it out for yourself. And if you are truly fortunate, you will find it, even in Fribourg.

On one such dreary winter afternoons when I lived in Fribourg, I had the opportunity to visit the studio of the painter Marie Vieli (b. 1961-), a Fribourgeois whose works seem to pulsate with an enigmatic vitality. I enjoyed my studio visit immensely, and now that I have returned to New York, I fondly think back upon that visit and consider it one of the highlights of my sojourn in Fribourg. I was recently inspired to recall the event when I learned that a current exhibition of Vieli´s works, entitled "Peintures et Papiers," will open on 17 March 2005 at the Musée d´art et d´histoire in Fribourg.

Usually untitled, her paintings and works on paper are abstract pieces that utilize a varied palette where ultra blues (in particular an Yves Klein blue of which she is particularly fond), forceful reds, and strong greens dominate. Her drips, letters, and markings are often lyrical, and are far from being methodical.

After studying at the École Cantonale d´art de Lausanne, Vieli attended the École Nationale supérieure des beaux-arts in Paris, where she completed a diplôme supérieur d´arts plastiques. I could not help but think of the long history of the École, which did not officially accept women artists as full-fledged students until 1896 and which did not offer the Prix de Rome to them until 1911. Times have changed; Vieli once told me how impressed she was with the international and diverse student body at the École during her time there in the late 1980s. Afterwards, she attended the Université de Paris, where she completed her licence in arts plastiques. Since then, Vieli has traveled extensively, conceiving exciting projects that were developed during visits to Egypt, Germany, and Spain.

During a period of study in Berlin, Vieli developed her Projet autel de Pergame (1995), a series of frieze-like paintings inspired by the Altar of Zeus from Pergamus at the Staatliche Museen in Berlin. Friezes and bands appear in other paintings as well, making them a touchstone to our ancient past. Her markings too, sometimes arbitrary, sometimes distinctly curvilinear, invoke a sense of timelessness. In the same year, Vieli produced a series of canvases and works on paper entitled Lettres de Berlin (1995). Born from the diary-writing or journal-keeping tradition, the Lettres de Berlin mark days in her life there, and are often characterized by the addition of individual letters and script. One in particular, "dated" on the canvas "27 juin 1995" could not have been painted at any other time than in the summer: the yellow and red passages give the work an overall sense of warmth, while the bright blue below conjures the sense of a cool breeze. More recent projects include her Projet Gaudi (2002), formulated during a stay in Barcelona. The arabesques of Gaudi can be found in these works, as well as paintings utilizing a bright red palette that was certainly inspired by Spain itself. There is a freedom in these large works, such as an untitled canvas from 2002. Here, her blue and red "periods" merge into a single work made more dynamic by its drips that change direction. The opposing hot and cold colors (becoming violet in some passages and green in others) charge the painting with a sense of energy.

Vieli has also made a large number of smaller, more intimate works, usually on paper. The Lettres de Berlin appear in this format as well as in larger canvases. The artist stated to me that the key elements of her works are color, gesture and movement. This requires no further explanation; this important triumvirate is evident in the works themselves.

I asked once asked Vieli if she thought it was difficult, as a female artist, to forge a path. She answered with a resounding "yes," and said she had been warned so during her studies at the École in Paris. Such is also to be expected in Switzerland, the mother of many unappreciated stars, past and present. Unfortunately a conservative political climate in Switzerland has, in the past, prevented these works from being exhibited as much as they deserve to be. I could not help but think at the time of my studio visit that outside of Switzerland these works would find a large, appreciative audience. In spite of this, Vieli has had a number of solo exhibitions in Switzerland in the cities of Avenches, Fribourg, Geneva, Lausanne, Marly, and in Paris. Her current show at the Musée d´art et d´histoire in Fribourg is important, long awaited and deserves attention.

I remember that it was especially difficult to face the cold winter night, under a cloudy Fribourg sky, after my visit to Vieli´s studio. Even the lights of the Marche de Nöel seemed dingy in comparison to the colors still fixed in my mind. I know that Vieli´s vibrantly-colored works will remain etched in my mind for some time, as memories of them have warmed many of my winter evenings ever since.

[To learn more about Marie Vieli, contact the artist at vieliart@freesurf.ch or visit her website at www.vieliart.ch]

[To visit the exhibition "Peintures et Papiers" contact the Musée d´art et d´histoire, Fribourg at www.fr.ch/mahf/]

Caterina Y. Pierre
Brooklyn, New York
7 March 2005

Copyright 2005 © Caterina Y. Pierre; all rights reserved
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