An empowering promise

That certain creative spark and ingenious spirit of the artist does not depend on the identity of the individual. Regardless of who finds place in the history books or on the museum walls, artists are driven by a passion to create, challenging the norms of their times and the barriers that may stand in their way.

Women artists especially have persevered in putting their mark on the movements of art-be it impressionism or modernism, conceptual or performance art. Berthe Morisot, counting Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Edgar Degas as peers, earned her place among the Parisian avant-garde of the late 19th-century, a near anomaly at the time. The abstract works of Hilma af Klint we now know indeed predate the male masters of abstraction previously recognized. These trailblazers paved the way for the next and subsequent generations of artists and creators.

The French-American artist Niki de Saint Phalle (1930-2002) made a name for herself in the early 1960s. Her vibrant, vivacious and voluptuous Nana sculptures radically celebrate the female form. She was a feminist who embraced fantasy, her multi-disciplinary work full of colour and energy. And she had bold ideas about the future, saying, “Women could administrate this world much better.” She believed they could usher in “a new world of joy.”

She also was not afraid of working outside the system, collaborating on commercially successful and mass-reaching projects to help fund her personal practice. This model was far ahead of its time, challenging the accepted relationship of patron, gallery, and artist. One such endeavour was an eponymous fragrance. While in development in the early eighties, La Prairie’s creative team shared a design studio with the artist in New York, an encounter that led to La Prairie’s embrace of one of Saint Phalle’s favourite colours: cobalt blue. It would become the signature hue of the Skin Caviar Collection, one that embodied a joyful, modern spirit that remains iconic decades later.

Inspired by those who came before them, the contemporary artists today carry the torch of charting their own paths in the art world.

The work of artist Carla Chan engages all of the senses. Working between physical and digital, she mines the natural world—and its enigmatic movements—to create immersive experiences that ignite our imagination and inspire contemplation. In May of 2021, Chan presented a time-based video installation entitled, “Space Between The Light Glows“ at Frieze New York, a collaboration with La Prairie. The project was the result of a residency at Monte Rosa Hut in the Swiss Alps. Capturing the fascinating motion of light against a landscape, Chan translated the beauty of what artists describe as the golden hour, a short window of time after sunrise or before sunset when light is at its most transformative.

In contrast, Wen-Chi Su embraces the body as her primary medium. The Taiwanese new media artist, choreographer and dancer investigates our relationship with technology and its impact on our physicality through her experimental practice. Taking on the subject of the dazzling moment when light encounters water, she was recently commissioned by La Prairie to choreograph a performance that took place during Art Basel in Miami Beach in December of 2021. At the ocean’s edge at sunrise and sunset, she performed “Moving Towards the Horizon”, brining to life the nature of light, water and the unique dynamics of their encounter. Intentionally slowing the rhythmic gestures of her body, she encouraged viewers to reflect, allowing for time to stand still.

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