Work in Progress: “I know a painting is done when it feels like it is eating itself”

We go behind the scenes with Gina Fischli and Willa Nasatir as they prepare to show new work at Frieze New York

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BY Livia Russell, Gina Fischli AND Willa Nasatir in Frieze New York , Interviews | 22 APR 24

For “Work in Progress," we talk to artists bringing their latest works to Frieze fairs. Ahead of debuting new sculptures with Chapter NY at Frieze New York, Gina Fischli reflects on her joyful return to sculpture and the autonomous spirit of a work, while Willa Nasatir speaks about the hallucinatory edges of vision, memory and knowledge that frame her most recent paintings.

Livia Russell How is your practice currently evolving?   

Gina Fischli During COVID-19, I didn’t have a studio, so I only worked on flat surfaces, but now I‘m really enjoying being able to make sculpture again. The work I will be presenting at Frieze New York will all be sculpture.

Willa Nasatir As of right now, I'm absorbed in painting. The relationship is in a very romantic place. I think my works are becoming more complex and harmonious, with the representational elements sinking deeper into the ground. I know a painting is done when it feels like it is eating itself.

Willa Nasatir's studio. Courtesy of the artist and Chapter NY
Willa Nasatir's studio. Courtesy of the artist and Chapter NY

LR Are there any new sources of inspiration that are guiding your work? 

WN I’ve been thinking about vision span – the concept that there are delineated edges of your periphery where the eye can and cannot register things – and where that idea meets memory, hallucination and other kinds of sensory recall. I like thinking about the instances that we know things are there without being able to see them.  

GF Often the works inspire themselves. You start with something, or maybe an "idea," but the work is steering in a totally different direction.

Gina Fischli's studio. Courtesy of the artist and Chapter NY
Gina Fischli's studio. Courtesy of the artist and Chapter NY

LR Which part of your process are you devoting your time to in the studio right now? 

WN In the beginning of the year I was making lots of drawings and now those drawings have become skeletal structures for the paintings I am in the midst of. Right now it feels like I am dressing and undressing those forms. 

GF I don’t think I have a clear process, per se, I just work. When I'm in the studio working, sometimes I take a walk.

Willa Nasatir's studio. Courtesy of the artist and Chapter NY
Willa Nasatir's studio. Courtesy of the artist and Chapter NY

LR How is presenting new work at a fair different from a gallery show? 

GF It’s a very busy environment so people don’t have a lot of time for individual works. It’s more about impressions.

WN You’re in an ocean of other work – personally, I love being in the ocean.

Gina Fischli's studio. Courtesy of the artist and Chapter NY
Gina Fischli's studio. Courtesy of the artist and Chapter NY

Read more: Work in Progress: Olivia van Kuiken—“My paintings are always a surprise, even to me”

Further Information

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Frieze New York is supported by global lead partner Deutsche Bank, continuing over two decades of a shared commitment to artistic excellence.

Main Image: Willa Nasatir, Breeze, 2024. Acrylic dispersion, flashe, urethane on polycotton 76 × 112 cm. Courtesy the artist and Chapter NY. Photo by Charles Benton

Livia Russell is a writer based in London, UK.

Gina Fischli is an artist. Her recent solo exhibitions include ‘I love being creative’ at Swiss Institute, New York, USA, and ‘No Rest For The Wicked’ at Chapter NY, USA, both in 2022. 

Willa Nasatir is an artist based in New York, USA.

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