BEYOND SEEING
La Prairie collaborates with three Swiss rising female photographers to interpret the mystic beauty and captivating power of the gaze
La Prairie, a leading Swiss luxury skincare brand, recently opened an exhibition exploring the beauty, the mystery, and the enduring timelessness of the gaze. Featuring three rising Swiss female photographers from the Lausanne University of Art and Design (ECAL), a post-secondary educational institution known for promoting Swiss creativity around the world and ranked among the world’s top 10 universities of art, Daniela Droz, Namsa Leuba, and Senta Simond presented unique points of view. Entitled Eyes in Focus, the three-woman exhibition was launched in the La Prairie Pavilion in the Collectors Lounge during the Art Basel in Basel.
“We are very excited to partner with Daniela,
Namsa and Senta. Their pioneering works are in perfect harmony with La Prairie’s heritage of audacity. We firmly believe that it is essential to support and encourage young artists who are forward-thinking while remaining sensitive to the timelessness of art. As Swiss artists, their refined, minimal approach is completely in line with that of La Prairie’s aesthetic,” said Greg Prodromides, Chief Marketing Officer of La Prairie. “In making the deliberate choice to work with female artists, we also pay homage to the inimitable quality of the female gaze, interpreted by the perspective of women themselves. These artists break the codes of their chosen medium, just as La Prairie continues to break the codes of luxury skincare with unexpected creations,” he added.
DANIELA DROZ
Settling in Lausanne at the age of 19, Canton
Ticino native Daniela Droz studied at ECAL, earning a Bachelor’s degree in Photography in 2008. She currently teaches photography at the academic institution. She won the first prize at the FF in Stuttgart in 2009 and was nominated for Che c’è di Nuovo by the Museo Cantonale d’Arte in Lugano, Switzerland in 2010 and the Swiss Design Awards in 2012. Last year, she participated in several exhibitions—14 Artisti at Buchmann Galerie and Galleria Daniele Agostini in Carona, Switzerland and Paris Art Fair at Grand Palais de Paris. She also had a solo exhibition entitled L’envers du visible at Château de Gruyères in Switzerland.
Droz admits that the conceptualization process takes some time, understanding the need to dig deep to find inspiration. Once she finds it, shooting becomes much easier. “For this project I decided to try to interrogate the viewer's gaze and turn it back on her. I sought to accentuate the idea of a new approach to photography which follows the principles of Constructivism or Bauhaus: with a new point of view, outside the generally accepted rules of perspective,” she says.
Constructive. Reflective. Layered. Droz aims to create images that are reflective of its viewer’s character. She wants her audience to connect and relate rather than just let the image trigger a whirlwind of unknown emotions. Sharing her experience working with La Prairie, she shares, “It’s an incredible opportunity for me to collaborate with La Prairie, which is a beautiful Swiss brand with strong values. For me, it's important to create my art and be able to show it, but I don't think it should be done without having reasoning about who give us these opportunities.”