A pictorial journey through spaces and thoughts
Zazà Ramen sake bar & restaurant, in collaboration with the APALAZZOGALLERY in Brescia, presents “Intercity” by the French-Italian artist Nathalie Du Pasquier (1957, Bordeaux). This work, commissioned by the owner and collector Brendan Becht specifically for the restaurant’s spaces, consists of a site-specific wall painting that stretches along the wall of the main dining room.
Du Pasquier, who has lived and worked in Italy since 1979 and has her studio near Zazà Ramen, was involved thanks to a series of fortunate coincidences. Invited by friends and her Brescia gallerist Francesca Migliorati of APALAZZOGALLERY, the artist created a painting titled “Intercity” that extends across two of the restaurant’s walls, representing an abstract landscape seen from the window of a speeding train.
“Intercity” connects the various places crossed by the owner Becht and the different origins of the artists invited to contribute to Zazà Ramen. “I think a restaurant, as tradition dictates, is an excellent place to view paintings, and in this case, the ephemeral presence of these wall paintings makes them somehow more interesting; in six months they will be gone forever,” says Du Pasquier.
Nathalie Du Pasquier’s intervention is enriched by a critical text by Irene Sofia Comi, which further explores the nuances of the work and its context within the restaurant. Comi writes: “It could be said that every work for Nathalie Du Pasquier is related to painting. The artist has painted every day in her studio since 1987. In ‘Intercity’, the walls and other architectural elements of the space are treated as if they were canvases that, when combined, form a single large structure.”
And continues: “The project conceived by the artist is an environmental work, where the real space merges with the representational space of the work. This environmental dimension, besides engaging with the tradition of wall painting, can be related to other works created by the artist. The brushstrokes that form the central band of ‘Intercity’ are enclosed in a thick, black-framed rectangle that seems to mimic the function of a frame. Although these elements seem vaguely recognisable to us, they are ‘nonexistent things’ for the artist.”
Nathalie Du Pasquier’s “Intercity” represents a unique opportunity to immerse oneself in a dynamic and abstract landscape, the result of the artistic vision of a creator who has intertwined her personal history with the places and people crossing her creative path. A work that, despite its ephemeral nature, leaves an indelible mark on the memory of those who observe it. “‘Intercity’ is a collection of elements that creates associations, a project consistent with the artist’s sensitivity. The intervention makes Zazà’s space both real and suspended, plausible and abstract. It is organised and geometric, yet warmly familiar. It is playful and moody… just like ‘following thoughts’.” – Comi concludes by quoting the artist.
