Interview
Joëlle Cabanne
Joëlle Cabanne was born in Geneva in 1976. After her artistic maturity at Voltaire College in 1997, Joëlle studied Art History and Cinema History at the University of Lausanne & Geneva.
Passionate about architecture, Joëlle continued her education at the EPFL, and then finally, at the Geneva University of Art and Design, HEAD, where she obtained her Bachelor of Art degree. Joëlle currently works as an architect in Geneva, where she also continues to pursue her artistic activity. The line and the notion of spatiality feeds her art, and vice versa.
For 7 years, Joëlle taught architecture as well as volume and drawing at the CFPArts in Geneva. She is a co-founder of dasBureau, a studio of architecture and urbanism. She is involved locally in several associations, which include the Association of Swiss Interior Architects (VSI ASAI), Visarte, & Maison de l’Architecture.
Joëlle is part of the Sustainable Art Market (SAM) program. As a SAM artist, she collaborates and donates 10% of her sales to the association Pro Natura Switzerland.
What is your background and how did you start your journey in the art world?
“I started my artistic career as a child. As an only child, drawing was a refuge for me. Being the daughter of an architect, I have evolved in a rich cultural environment.
Having a certain talent for drawing, I headed towards artistic maturity, which quite naturally led me to University where I studied the history of art and history of cinema. As my artistic culture developed, it allowed me to try out certain things in the plastic arts. I was fascinated by the New York school and the colour field movement. I continued my education at the HEAD in Geneva, an art & design University, where I obtained my bachelor of design in architecture. Those were the most exciting years of my education because I could create, not just learn.
Since the age of 16, I have been exhibiting my work in various places and galleries. I opened my own architectural office in 2018, dasBureau Sàrl, in Geneva. I am both an architect and an artist, and my working day always starts with a coffee!”
What inspires you most?
“My main source of inspiration is nature, whether it is built or natural. I am also inspired by my own experience in the fields of landscape. I have a very strong bond with nature; we are an integral part of it. As a horse rider, I have been riding in Geneva's nature reserves since I was 10. The view from the back of a horse is very different from our human vision on two feet - the gaze rises.
Another dimension of my work lies in the inner landscape, the emotions that we all feel. It is necessary for me to be able to express them in a way that allows them to be released.”
“I really appreciate when my work sends emotions back to the viewer. When they see the projection of their own territory, whether it is an inner or outer landscape. A sort of intimate dialogue between the work and the person in front of it. The contemplation, the loss of reference points, the calm or the storm felt. The awareness of our human condition.”
How would you describe your work?
“My work is multi-faceted. I systematically work on two or three series at the same time, ink and digital work. The digital work is based on photographs that I take of Swiss landscapes - mountains and lakes. I always rework the ridge line in order to disturb the eye, and thus create a landscape skewed from the truth. My ink work on canvas and paper is inspired by nature, but works more on my visceral emotions. Digital work is quite pragmatic, while pictorial work is based on emotions. The two mediums respond to each other. The ink work is composed only of shades of blue and green. This allows me to have nuances that are subtle. The digital work is in black and white for the photography, while the coloured works are pink, green and blue.
With a small palette composed of a multitude of shades, I create my own tools to paint with ink. Wooden sticks made of balsa wood help control the liquid, while also leaving the work to chance. The pattern becomes the essence of the installations. For the digital works. the same principle is used , several photographs make up a whole. The most important series in my work is Fields, Paysages recomposés and Matters & Vals.”
Which artists influence you most?
“Several artists have influenced my artistic approach. Some of them do not have a direct influence on the representation, but rather as a character and state of mind. These artists include Joseph Beuys, for his committed link to environmental politics, and Andy Warhol for the notion of the entrepreneur and the quality of his multitude of facets. Ferdinand Hodler, a Swiss painter, stands out for me for the notion of parallelism and colour palette. Artists that I particularly appreciate for their global works include Josef Albers, Remy Zaugg, Gerhard Richter, Helen Frankenthaler, Sam Francis, Ettore Spalletti, Max Bill, Alexander Brodsky, Olaf Breuning, Paul Viaccoz, and many others.
The movement I like is colour field painting.”
“Sometimes it happens that some people are so touched that they can no longer take their eyes off the work. The work becomes the medium of a meditation. The right brain gives way to the left brain (the basis of the emotional brain), and the viewer unconsciously projects landscapes that he has experienced.”
What’s your favorite artwork, and why?
“My favourite work is a performance from Josef Beuys, ‘I like America and America likes Me’. The whole process of Beuys and the coyote was filmed and observed by visitors behind a fence. The man and the animal shared the felt blanket, the straw and the territory of the gallery. This artwork is interpreted in various ways, but for Beuys, the cane is the symbol of Eurasia united in a continent of solidarity. With this demonstration, Beuys opened the way to a new form of artistic reflection, he was a 'conductor', just like his favourite materials.”
What is your creative process like?
“My creative process is like yoga. I put myself in a situation of absolute calm, of resting my conscious brain. I take the time to disconnect my conscious brain and to come to the essence of listening to my deep force. I then begin a period of artistic meditation that can last several hours. Some have lasted up to 10 hours straight. I go through this meditative painting process without eating. My hand stops when I am extremely tired and nothing more appears. This is followed by a time of contemplation. I see and feel the artistic act accomplished, the landscapes as expressionist metaphors of vital energy.
I use various materials for my work. For the medium, I use different types of art paper, canvas, and walls for large-scale works such as Birds and Big Mamma, which I did on several floors in the Cantonal Hospital in Geneva.
I use large Chinese brushes traditionally used for calligraphy, but also my own created materials, such as wooden chopsticks that I make from balsa wood. Ink is the main liquid used, with a minimalist palette ranging from green to blue.”
What is an artist’s role in society and how do you see that evolving?
“The role of the artist is multiple, depending on the context and the medium used - whether it be painting, dance, music, writing or cinema.
The artist must commit themselves to their work in order to make the invisible visible, and to propose an alternative or even emotional vision of society and the questions that surround it. It allows for stepping back from the daily train, a support allowing reflection and questioning.”
