The Swiss artist Caro Niederer paints colorful canvases that explore the intersection of artistic creation and everyday life, often basing the compositions on postcards she collects during trips around the world, or daily snapshots of her surroundings taken with her camera — or, lately, with an iPhone. Her work encompass a variety of media, from painting and sculpture to video and tapestry, but Niederer's first New York solo show — at Hauser & Wirth through July 27 — focuses on her paintings from the early 1990s to the present.
The earlier works on view are a series of small canvases presenting images from the Kama Sutra as well as postcards from a trip to Kyoto. The most recent works take on a much larger format, while focusing on more everyday subjects, like a kitchen table with a vase of flowers, a street in front of her home, or the basketball court where her kids play. Standing out against the vibrant color palette prevalent in most of her paintings are two sepia-toned “Brown Paintings.” Like blown-up old time photographs, the paintings exude a warm and gentle light that guides us through what the artist calls “common subjects.” On the occasion of her new show, Niederer spoke to ARTINFO about the series, and their disparate source materials.
“Caro Niederer — Paintings” is currently on view at Hauser & Wirth New York. It runs through July 27.