100 Artists

As Hugo Yoshikawa arrives on the 17th of August 2016, Trelex welcomes its 100th Artist in Residence.  To celebrate we have mapped out all 100 artists, showing roughly where everyone has arrived from.  I’m honored to have welcomed so many artists from all these many places into both my studio at Trelex and the rainforest of Peru at Trelex Amazonas.  Hover or click on the dots for information on each artist.  [full screen]

From Aurelia Zephire

05 May - 06 Jun 2016 and 24 Jun - 30 Jul 2016

Trelex Residency is a sort of heaven for artists. Tucked under the eaves of an enormous ancient Swiss house, with plenty of light and space in the studio and on the surrounding grounds, complete freedom to explore new mediums or delve deeper into one’s work.

I highly recommend giving yourself enough time. At least one week to settle in and experiment: either with new tools or different approaches to your work. Nina and previous artists leave behind a wide range of tools/ supplies with which to play with, but be sure to bring along enough of your own supplies too as the Swiss art shops can leave you frustrated if you have a specific need or are working on a limited budget. You will need at minimum two additional weeks to do some work and a few days to wrap it all up. Of course, the dream is to spend the full 3 months in one go in order to delve deeply and start a solid body of work that way. Though I do find that I still feel full and continuing some of the streams of thought started there over a year ago!

The first month I was there I was able to begin and complete several of the projects I had started along with a brainstorm of new ideas. After a one month hiatus, I came back for a second month and completed a few more of the drawings and paintings I had started along with beginning a few more ideas to be completed later. The quiet countryside and plethora of reading materials in the studio rooms and library nourished another bout of brainstorming for future projects!

Although the end product, or body, of my work is often quite large, the pieces that go to make it can be folded up into a traveling case in order to be worked on in smaller spaces and while traveling, moving or in bed, since several health conditions often conspire to keep me there for extended periods of time. With a recently recovered bit of health, I challenged myself with Trelex...I had been yearning for a larger studio space in which to stretch out, move and involve my body more in the process and create larger single pieces. The time at Trelex Residency, Nina and her wonderful family, was an experience in my life which I will cherish for years...

aureliazephire.com

From Aviva Shemesh

01.07.2016 - 30.07.2016

As soon as my friend artist, Rona Shahar, told me about the Trelex Residency, I was determined to take advantage of this wonderful opportunity. Contrary to other residencies, this one is based on a very laid back model that does not require filling in application forms nor pay amounts of money that artists usually are short of. All you need is to be committed once you have decided to attend.

I booked the residency almost a year in advance and the day to take the plane to Geneva has finally arrived. After a long journey from Tel Aviv I arrived in Nina’s big house in this small Swiss village – Trelex – being welcomed by Nina, her husband David, their three children and a cute jumpy dog. Then when I got to my room on the third floor I realized how generous was the gift I was offered: a huge house surrounded by vines and forest, forest fruit growing in the garden and ready to be picked up, bikes and a car available for use, hiking trails within a short train ride, a whole nice room for myself, shared studio space, kitchen and bathroom and the most beautiful view from each of the windows of the house.

In my work I mostly use watercolors to draw urban and rural landscapes, therefore all I have to carry around with me are my brushes and papers. However, the idea of having a studio of my own during my stay in Trelex was very appealing. For the first time, I had all my equipment laid on a table ready to use whenever I find the muse. Add to it the material that Nina makes available to artists in residence, and the ideas were just flowing with a desire to try different techniques. 

Everything in and around the house was inspiring: the backyard flowers; the Apricot tree near the main entrance, carrying spotless round yellow-orange Apricots ready to be picked up as I got in and out of the house; the red tile roofs seen from the kitchen window every morning, the typical architecture with the pointed church roofs and the Jura mountains in the horizon. 

Finally, Nina’s house is located just by the Trelex small train station that takes us to Nyon, the nearby town. From there one can take the train to different parts of Switzerland for a 1 or 2 day trip, visit museums, get additional ideas and topics for painting and just enjoy summer in Switzerland. 

The Trelex residency allowed me to just focus on my art for a whole month, which at home is impossible as I am tied up with other commitments. I am grateful for having had this opportunity. 

From Ujan Dutta

03.06.2016 - 23.06.2016

My stay at Trélex has been a wonderfully enriching experience. It served as a lovely change of scene for me, as my personal work was getting interrupted by my day to day professional activities.

Up until now I only just begun to compile a body of work, following my first exhibition, in 2012 and was failing miserably at it. My visit has inspired me to rekindle my enthusiasm for wanting to build an entirely new body of work.

Chandra

A setting such as Trélex inspires you to try new things, experiment and most importantly have fun. Up until now, my work focused on mainly Hindu mythology, and a study of some of the main characters of the mythological structure. This formed the basis of my first exhibition. Since then, I've been trying to expand my own universe of characters, places, and creatures. I have been trying to build a series of paintings, based on the association of each Hindu god to a 'Vahana' or an animal usually as a vehicle to his/her respective god. This concept gave me the opportunity to experiment with lots of new characters and themes, which I have thoroughly enjoyed. My work at the Trélex residency however allowed to me to further build my roster of unique mythological figures.

Garuda

I worked on a panoramic illustration depicting an iconic scene from the 'Ramayana'. Ram, along with an army of apes and monkeys builds a bridge made out of floating rocks between the south-eastern coast of India and 'Lanka', to rescue his bride, Sita, who is being held captive by the demon-king Raavana. I wanted to make this illustration a long-format horizontal panorama, something I hadn't fully tried before. I enjoyed adding an unreal scale to an already unbelievable scene, as I love detailing in my work.

Moon

Trélex has been an amazing place to work in. I have loved every bit of it. Nina's studio space has a great character and feeling to it, which really gives you a great opportunity to really focus on your work. I enjoyed travelling around Switzerland as well. Getting around is really easy and efficient. The Residency is very well located, just a few minutes away from the picturesque Nyon, and between Lausanne and Geneva, which are always fun to visit. Nina and Abi have been lovely hosts. My only regret is that I didn't spend more time learning new art mediums from them. I would be lying if I said that what I actually miss most is Nina's dog, by far one of the most adorable living creatures I've ever seen. 

I highly recommend the residency to any creative person, aspiring or otherwise, to visit the Trélex residency. I will treasure every minute of my experience, and look forward to going back as soon as I can. 

From Lolita Dutta

02.06.2016 - 

Week one at Trelex: After an almost 9hour journey from a sweltering hot New Delhi, India, we arrived at geneva airport to be met by Aurelia, a charming artist. 

She drove us to Trelex, and within a few hours i was settled and totally at home.

Maybe it was the feel of an artist 's studio, or just the peaceful surroundings, but it made me draw the very first night that i was here.! it was also the fact that i was away  from the hustle bustle of my daily mayhem and madness .

Trelex speaks to you in the way you want to be spoken to, it builds your own rhythm, it lets you breathe ,and you begin to discover yourself...

I am excited about my next two weeks, the first week is almost over, but i know my creative mind has found solace.

From Julia Peintner

03.04.2016 - 30.04.2016

The Trelex Residency, like its name suggests, is located in the small, idyllic village of Trelex, located a short eight minutes train ride away from Nyon at the shore of Lac Leman, just between Geneve in the west and Lausanne in the east.

What makes this residency so great from the start is the straightforward application process, followed by its location (meaning little distraction but at the same time, things to do nearby if one wants to), its studio space with great light, books and a lot of material already there to use, its individual approach to every artist's needs), no pressure to produce and expectations of the artist e.g. presentations, workshops etc., and, which is very rare for residencies, no fee for all of this. For me, the mixture of these circumstances resulted in what I was hoping to use this residency for: getting work done.

The Clubbers, acrylic on canvas, 155.2 x 37 cm, 2016

From Stina Lavenius

12.04.2016 - 30.04.2016

I'm a recently graduated graphic designer/ illustrator who has spent this last year working on my own projects, mainly image making using different techniques.

I came to Trelex with a very short notice since the artist who were supposed to come in April had to cancel. Unfortunately, since it was a very spontaneous decision to apply, I could only stay for two weeks, but those weeks were well worth it! I had done a couple of residency programs before where I worked on very specific themes set before arrival. This time, I decided to let the place inform what I would do, so I had nothing decided when I arrived in Trélex. The first days I was just busy collecting visual impressions from the surroundings and the characteristic house.

About the project: As I went to Trélex very suddenly I hadn't saved up for the trip and Switzerland isn't exactly famous for being cheap, so I naturally found myself thinking a lot about my financial situation (staying in Trélex is very beneficial for a modest economy though, as there really isn't much to spend your money on, we cooked at home and had a lot of (delicious) canned rösti). I came to the residency in the midst of the Panama papers chaos, so I also spent a lot of time reading about money. I'm always feeling like the language of the economy section in the news is excluding me. It's mysterious and full of authority. This I find both intimidating and intriguing, and I want to understand. In short: money was on my mind and I decided to make my project about it. I figured I'd dig into financial language. I chose to work with a selection of (Swedish) expressions connected to taxes.

The model of Trélex residency was perfect for me; total freedom, a peaceful workspace in a new environment was just what I needed to get started with a new project. I hope to come back one day.