For our second edition of online exhibitions, Ronewa presents Swiss artist Mireille Gros. Seasons: Fictional Plant Diversity features new works on paper as a continuation of Gros’ long-time project creating a taxonomy of invented plantlife.
Touched by witnessing the now rare abundant biodiversity of the Taï National Park in West Africa, and dismayed by the fact that species are disappearing from existence every single day, Gros began drawing and painting plant species from her imagination. Since 1993, she has been adding to The Fictional Plant Biodiversity Project with unique flora that is both otherworldly and familiar.
“I don’t work after nature - I like to work with nature,” writes Gros. Her work does not attempt to document, catalog, or reproduce nature. Instead, she works adjacent to the plant world, drawing inspiration from its beauty and intricacies. Her extensive oeuvre of invented species points to an ideology that places plants at the center of life on earth, rather than as its embellishment.
This exhibition also underscores Gros’ love of paper. She is a collector, finding and saving paper from all over the world. With each paper, there is a new dialogue between surface and materials, but also memory and history. Her latest works collage together papers of varied tones, textures, and origins, intensifying this conversation.
Gros lives and works between Basel and Paris. She has shown in local and international solo exhibitions since 1990, including the recent Kabinettausstellung at Kunstmuseum Basel. Her work is housed in private and public collections worldwide, including La Chalcographie du Louvre (Paris), Helvetia Art Collection (Basel), and Fonds d'art Contemporain (Paris). Gros has been awarded numerous prizes as well as residencies in China, Mali, and Bulgaria.
