Nathalie Du Pasquier / CAMPO DI MARTE II
Campo di Marte by Italian-based French artist Nathalie de Pasquier is a collection of works composed of photographs, cutouts, and arrangements of her own paintings, created between the 1980s and 2020. Conceived in March 2020, during a time when Pasquier was taking a break from painting, the book unfolds as a quiet, intellectual "game of meaninglessness," focusing solely on the pure visual relationships between forms and compositions and the room for interpretation created by their arrangement. Woven into the book are fragments of words—titles, poems, and mathematical formulas—and the images are strung together like sentences. The composition is a kind of surrealism in the everyday, stitching together the silence of a moment when one is at a loss for words.
"Campo di Marte" was originally planned to be published in 2021 to coincide with the exhibition of the same name (curated by Luca Lo Pinto) held at MACRO (Museum of Contemporary Art in Rome), but due to the impact of COVID-19, the book was released first. This book is an expanded version of the 2020 edition of "CAMPO DI MARTE," reprinted with 16 additional pages. Pasquier said of the book, "This book was supposed to be published in conjunction with the opening of the exhibition, but that didn't happen. But the exhibition and the book are separate, so it's not a big deal. This book is not an exhibition catalog at all. You can read it anywhere, flip through it on your subway seat."
Nathalie de Pasquier was a founding member of the legendary design collective "Memphis Group," formed in 1981 with Ettore Sottsass and others, and after working on furniture, textiles, objects, and interior design, she transitioned full-time to painting in 1986. The experimental spirit, decorativeness, and spatial awareness of Memphis are alive and well in her current work.
This book is filled with Pasquier's unique colors and playfulness, and as you turn the pages you will be immersed in the world of his work.
Campo di Marte, by Nathalie Du Pasquier, a French artist based in Italy, is a collection of works composed by photographing and cutting out her own paintings produced between the 1980s and 2020, then arranging them in sequence. Conceived in March 2020, during a period when Du Pasquier had temporarily put down her paintbrush, the book focuses solely on the formal relationships between shapes and compositions, and the interpretive space that arises from their arrangement. What unfolds is a quiet, intellectual “game of nonsense,” in which fragments of titles, poems, and mathematical formulas are woven together. The images connect like sentences, forming a kind of everyday surrealism—an attempt to stitch together silence at a time when words had failed.
Campo di Marte was originally scheduled to be published alongside the exhibition of the same name, curated by Luca Lo Pinto and held at MACRO (Museum of Contemporary Art of Rome) in 2021. However, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, only the book was released ahead of time. Du Pasquier remarked: “The book was supposed to come out at the same time as the exhibition opening. That didn't happen, but it's not a big deal—because the exhibition and the book are two separate things. This book is not a catalog at all. It's something you can flip through anywhere, even while sitting on the subway.”
Nathalie Du Pasquier was a founding member of the legendary design Memphis collective Group, established in 1981 with Ettore Sottsass and others. After designing furniture, textiles, objects, and interiors, she transitioned fully to painting in 1986. The experimental spirit, decorative sensibility, and spatial awareness characteristic of Memphis remains vividly present throughout her current work.
Filled with Du Pasquier's unique color palette and playful sensibility, this book invites the reader to delve ever deeper into her world with each turning page.
Publisher: HUMBOLDT BOOKS
Publication year: 2025
Number of pages: 160 pages
Size: 210 x 150 mm
Format: Soft cover
Language:
Accessories:
Condition: New