© Mai-Thu Perret (here from Christoph Keller Editions)

We are used to see neon artworks, shapes, letters and silhouettes in almost every exhibition. But the first time i saw the The Crystal Frontier showing dancing bodies together with neon tools i was impressed. The cold light of neon started to be romantic and the hard structure of the mannies became flexible as the smooth bodies of ballerinas that you usually see in rhythmic gymnastics. So let me introduce you Mai-Thu Perret known in both in Europe and the US for her ambitious multi-disciplinary practice encompassing sculpture, painting, video and installation.

© Mai-Thu Perret

Born in Geneva in 1976 and educated at Cambridge University, Perret lives and works in Geneva. She has recently been awarded both the 2011 Zurich Art Prize and Le Prix Culturel Manor 2011. She is included in ILLUMInations (curated by Bice Curiger) at the 54th Venice Biennale. Recent solo exhibitions include Spectra, Haus Konstruktiv, Zurich (2011); Mai-Thu Perret: The Adding Machine, Aargauer Kunsthaus, Aarau; travelling to Le Magasin, Grenoble (2011); Mai-Thu Perret: New Work, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (2009), 2013, Aspen Art Museum (2009); 2012, Timothy Taylor Gallery, London (2008).

© Mai-Thu Perret

In an interview with Laura Moriarty for SF MoMAMai-Thu Perret commented her works: “Symmetry in some sense is a readymade form of composition, and I suspect that’s one of the main reasons I am so interested in it. It relieves me of the burden of more idiosyncratic, “creative”, or “personal” compositional choices… I enjoy a lot of the associations that come with symmetrical forms: naturally forms, patterns, repetition, outsider art. However, there are also many different instances in the work where symmetry is broken, offset.”

Timothy Taylor gallery

By Ingrid Melano