CLAUDIA COMTE – Art of Living in Natural Habitat With and Within Nature

In the dynamic and ever-evolving world of contemporary art, Claudia Comte stands out as a

leading figure known for her innovative vision and dedication to ecological awareness. Spanning across sculpture, painting and installation, her artworks draws inspiration from popular culture and significant art movements. Comte has earned a revered place in the permanent collection of the Castello di Rivoli and her artistic influence resonates across esteemed institutions like Kunstmuseum Luzern, Copenhagen Contemporary and Thyssen-Bornemisza Madrid.

“Hello, I’m Claudia,” says the modern art legend, gently extending her hand. Her almond-shaped eyes, wise and calm, meet mine with interest. On this sunlit day, she stands before me dressed entirely in black and wearing cowboy boots. It occurs to me that in this extremely remote Swiss village, Claudia not only creates thought-provoking art but also possesses an undeniable sense of style. “And this is Samuel, my partner,” Claudia continues, introducing another visionary of the art world. Samuel Leuenberger, Independent Curator and Founder of City & Country SALTS, is known for his transformative projects, such as inviting the legendary 93-year-old artist Agnes Denes to recreate her iconic wheat field at Art Basel 2024. “Samuel and I share an ongoing philosophical dialogue, he understands me in ways I sometimes do not,” Claudia adds with a smile, leading me into their dreamlike home. It’s immediately evident that Claudia’s studio is a manifestation of her artistic philosophy.

Every corner, every surface resonates with her dedication to ecological mindfulness and sustainable principles. The wood she sculpts is conscientiously sourced, often reclaimed or responsibly harvested, ensuring each creation is as environmentally sound as it is visually captivating. Here, the lines blur between artist and environment, birthing works that are not merely inspired by nature, but an intrinsic part of it. 

Claudia, your work features a lot of organic forms and precise patterns. Can you tell us how this visual language started and how it has evolved over time?

Claudia Comte: My connection to nature began in my childhood. I grew up in a small village in the Romandie, surrounded by forests, and this closeness to the landscape around me left a deep imprint on me. When I attended art school at ECAL near Lausanne, I started with abstract minimalism. However, I quickly began to infuse this style with the organic forms I observed within nature. By studying plants and fauna and other natural elements at a microscopic level, I discovered the inherent symmetry and beautiful patterns that existed within them. This fascination with the mathematical and symmetrical aspects of nature has shaped my work ever since. Over the years, my focus has broadened to include ecological

concerns, reflecting on our relationship with the natural world and how impact we have on it.

Many art critics describe your work as a harmonious blend of craft and concept. How do you navigate the tension between these two aspects of your creative process? 

Claudia Comte: It’s a delicate balance. On the one hand, I come from a tradition that values precision and perfection in craftsmanship. On the other, my work carries strong conceptual messages about nature and our ecological footprint. Over time, I’ve learned to navigate this tension by sometimes focusing more on one or the other topic within the different mediums I use such as painting, sculpture, video or performative works.

Samuel Leuenberger: For over 15 years, Claudia has continuously experimented and adapted her work to various settings, whether large or small, indoor or outdoor. Her work offers an engaging experience on the surface but encourages a deeper conversation around the more serious topics our world faces.

Your work has evolved to address larger ecological concerns. How do you integrate these themes into your practice, and what impact do you hope to achieve?

Claudia Comte: I’ve become increasingly concerned with ecological issues. This involves not just representing nature in its various states of glory and decay, but also considering the environmental impact of my materials and processes. For instance, I’m mindful of where the wood for my sculptures comes from and the carbon footprint we create in the studio when accepting shows in different parts of the world. Through my art, I aim to raise awareness about our fragile ecosystem and encourage viewers to reflect on their own relationship with nature and themselves.

Samuel Leuenberger: Claudia’s path emphasizes a practical stance on environmentalism, acknowledging that change happens step by step and in various aspects of our own life and globally. Embracing a holistic view, she challenges conventional norms, navigating the complexities of contemporary life while actively promoting concrete steps toward a more sustainable future like having a plant based diet, protecting animal rights or recycling more cleverly.

Collaboration seems to be an integral part of your practice. How do these collaborations influence your artistic output and personal growth?

Claudia Comte: Collaboration is essential for my large-scale projects. On the technical side, I work with a team of trained experts for my painting installations, sculpture productions, and other mediums. These collaborators understand my vision and help bring it to life. On the creative side, I collaborate with dancers, DJs, musicians, and other artists to develop ideas and concepts while expanding my overall practice. These interactions open up new possibilities and allow me to explore different styles and moods withing my own practise. Working closely with these creative people has enriched my artistic output and contributed significantly to my personal growth.

Your paintings and murals have a distinct rhythmical quality. How do you achieve this sense of movement and flow in your two-dimensional works?

Claudia Comte: My painting practice has evolved significantly over the years. Initially, my wall paintings were created using a laborious hand technique involving a scotch-tape method of applying paint to the walls. This method had its limitations, but it allowed for a certain level of craftsmanship. In recent years, I’ve incorporated digital renderings and architectural programs to create more complex forms that are impossible to achieve by hand. This technical evolution has enabled me to capture the rhythmical qualities found in nature in more details, such as the movements of water, algae, smoke, and animal sounds. By studying these natural elements, I’ve been able to infuse the work with a sense of complexity and compositional strength that is astonishing.

Samuel Leuenberger: Comte’s work always in a first line captures the delicate balance and inherent harmony (and sometimes stress) found in nature. Her ability to intertwine technical precision with organic inspiration creates a dynamic and thought-provoking body of work. Through her art she invites viewers to consider the deeper connections between natural phenomena and human experience.

Your work often includes playful and interactive elements. How do you balance this with serious themes?

Claudia Comte: I enjoy creating interactive elements, like the cartoonish exaggerations in my cactus sculptures or the googly eyes in my paintings. These playful aspects invite viewers in and make the artwork accessible. However, I also ensure that my work challenges deeper thoughts by addressing serious topics that touch all of us on a daily basis.

Samuel Leuenberger: Claudia’s fascination with cartoons influenced by her upbringing in the French-speaking part of Switzerland, is evident in her work. Growing up with iconic characters like Tintin, Spirou & Fantasio, Marsupilami and many others, she often incorporates a cartoonish style into her pieces. This is particularly visible in her “Disaster Series,” where she juxtaposes images of natural or animal disasters with the repeated “ha-ha-ha” motif. This motif reminiscent of cartoon villains’ exaggerated laughter, adds a dark, morbid humor to her commentary on serious issues such as animal abuse and environmental destruction.

Claudia, can you tell us about a specific project that challenged you and how you overcame these challenges?

Claudia Comte: One of the most technically challenging projects I’ve worked this year on was at the Rockbund Art Museum in Shanghai. I was invited to create a wall painting throughout the entire staircase, spanning five or six floors, in an old Art Deco building. The painting included a color gradient that transitioned from green to pink to blue as you moved up the stairs. The narrow and compact nature of the staircase, combined with its heritage protection status, made it incredibly difficult to render the whole space accurately. We had to ensure every part of the design matched up perfectly, which required centimeter-exact renderings and a lot of coordination with the painting team. It was a complex task, but ultimately, we managed to bring it all together, pushing the boundaries of what a wall painting can achieve.

Samuel Leuenberger: In 2021, Claudia undertook a great project as part of Art Basel’s Parcours sector which I curated, at Basel’s Stadtkasino, our own classical concert hall, transforming it into a fully immersive experience. This project featured her “interview paintings,” large-scale pieces with lines of words forming intricate patterns. These paintings were displayed on freestanding easels throughout the room, creating a dynamic and interactive setting. Comte brought in a diverse group of performers to interpret these paintings, adding a rich, performative layer to the exhibition. The performers included a classical pianist, a drummer, a knitter, and a bird voice imitator from Germany, among others. Each performer reacted to the paintings in unique ways, sometimes performing solo and at other times creating a crescendo of simultaneous performances. This created a constantly shifting atmosphere, allowing viewers to experience the art from multiple perspectives.

Your work often addresses ecological concerns. How do you balance conveying serious messages while maintaining an engaging and beautiful aesthetic?

Claudia Comte: It’s important to me to strike some balance between an aesthetic quality and deeper ecological messages. I want my work to be inviting and enough visually appealing so that the viewers are drawn in and then prompted to contemplate about the more real issues at hand. For example, I’ve created sculptures of crushed cans made from marble, inspired by beaches in Indonesia littered with waste knee-high. These pieces are visually striking, but they also encourage viewers to consider their own consumption and its impact on the environment.

Samuel Leuenberger: Comte’s art often addresses these interconnected issues, showing that problems we perceive as distant are actually very close to us. She strives to balance raising awareness with maintaining a sense of beauty and humor in her work. Her visually appealing pieces, like the marble cans, invite viewers to appreciate their aesthetic qualities first. This initial attraction then opens up deeper layers of meaning, encouraging reflection on environmental impact and our shared responsibility, our own waste in the landlocked Switzerland, end up in Oceans world wide too, the trees that are cut in an another contintent influence our quality of air here as well. We are near and far at the same time to everything that happens on the planet.

What are some of your upcoming projects, and how do you envision your practice evolving in the next few years?

Claudia Comte: I have two upcoming shows in Asia — one in Seoul, Korea this fall and another in Shanghai, China next March. As well as a show with my Mexican Gallery OMR and a public project in Tampa, Florida and at Spreepark in Berlin I have been working on since a few years. The show in Seoul will focus on volcanic eruptions and their aftermath, including a large-scale carpet installation that transcribes a volcanic outbreak. In Shanghai,
I’m working on an earth/soil wall painting inside an old water tank, using local soil mixed with paint. This installation will also feature a fully grown tree as a symbol of hope and resilience as the center piece.

Samuel Leuenberger: Comte’s future endeavors, which include experimenting with living materials like moss and trees promises to further expand the boundaries of her practice, offering both challenges and fertile ground for creative innovation and a way to bring her even nearer to a sense of home and nature within us.