Exploring Claudia Comte’s visual language in ‘The Origin of the Shockwave Ripple Effect’

From the sun-drenched coasts of the Mediterranean to the raw beauty of desert landscapes, Basel-based artist Claudia Comte’s installations offer an immersive exploration of our planet’s essence. With a blend of traditional craftsmanship and modern innovation, Comte crafts experiences that inspire reflection and wonder. Wander through towering wall paintings, each stroke a testament to resilience and transformation, or immerse yourself in the depths of oceanic realms with her underwater sculptures, breathing life into coral sanctuaries. Through her art, Comte invites us to rediscover our connection to nature and embrace our role as stewards of the Earth.

Athens is renowned for its rich cultural heritage and diversity, shaped by centuries of history, migration and interaction with various civilisations. The city boasts a flourishing art scene steeped in historical layers, ancient legacy, arts and literature, culinary diversity and vibrant festivals. In addition to prominent institutions like the National Archaeological Museum and Benaki Museum and cultural foundations such as Deste Foundation, Centre for Contemporary Art and Onassis Cultural Centre, a newly designed opera house by Renzo Piano draws visitors with its diverse programme.

Located at the heart of Athens’ art scene on Kallirrois Avenue & Amvr. Frantzi Street, an area undergoing gentrification, is a former FIX brewery factory transformed into the National Museum of Contemporary Art Athens (ΕΜΣΤ). Since 2000, it has embarked on a journey to become a permeable museum, focusing on expanding the domestic community of contemporary art by connecting it with the international scene. What sets this museum apart is the passionate and inclusive approach of its artistic director, Katerina Gregos. Gregos transformed the museum upon her appointment, building its collection and solidifying its place on the global cultural map. Last year, ΕΜΣΤ established a new International Curators Visiting Programme to engage international curators with the local art scene and foster extended dialogues for future collaborations. As part of the programme, I had the chance to spend time with the museum’s curatorial team and an ΕΜΣΤ consultant, Fivos Sakalis.

From December 2023 to November 2024, ΕΜΣΤ has presented a series of exhibitions exclusively dedicated to women artists or artists who identify as female. Under the overarching title What if Women Ruled the World?, the museum will feature four shows throughout the year, showing only works by women artists. Coinciding with this, the museum unveiled a new commission by Comte. The Origin of the Shockwave Ripple Effect (yellow and turquoise) (2024), is a captivating yellow and turquoise wall painting considered a visual and sensory experience spanning a 30-metre corridor, seamlessly connecting the museum’s main area to its entrance foyer. 

“The turquoise and yellow are based on my memories of the Mediterranean Sea, the transparent colour of the ocean and the starchy heat, the flickering of the light when you look out into the sun. It is one way for me to bring the outside into the museum and it is another way for me to connect with a general sense of identity on site in Athens,” Comte tells STIR. The blending of these colours makes a captivating ripple effect, pinched in the centre, creating dynamic visual motion. The horizontal turquoise lines mimic the movement of waves, guiding visitors through the space. As the lines converge into the yellow section, they transform into a more linear shape, eventually forming a seed-like pattern in black and white. Enhancing its appeal is a gradient that shifts from turquoise to yellow, eventually fading into white, mirroring the rich diversity found in nature. The artwork presents an elegant interplay of colours and forms that blend harmoniously with the museum’s walls, contrasting with the rugged, aged structures of the FIX factory.

Comte is well-known for her site-specific installations, paintings and sculptures that exemplify a unique blend of traditional hand processes and modern technology, showcasing her affinity for organic patterns and morphology. Her inspiration often stems from nature’s intricate designs, such as waves, sonar patterns, cacti and rock strata. Her practice is shaped by the purity of nature and the visual richness it offers humanity. Her wall paintings are computer-generated images inspired by natural forms, with patterns developed digitally. Comte begins by producing a rendering, then uses vinyl as a stencil before painting directly onto the wall. “I often make wall paintings that help the visitor move through the space. There is something soothing but also slightly agitating since the lines are so forceful. The idea of the skin (the painting) on the body (the wall) is as usual something I try to make visible,” says Comte. One of her double-sided wall paintings titled Curves and Zigzags (2017) which was in situ at Homme-Adams Park in Palm Springs, California was a large, freestanding structure, towering, slender and undulating, adorned with an effect which occurs when irregular or repetitive patterns overlap, creating a wavy, shimmering image—a moiré, a term used to describe patterns and effects in textiles and photography. At the heart of the Palm Springs fauna, sunshine grappled with the optical rebellion and presented a unique visual pleasure with its hypnotising perspective.

In 2022, the artist participated in DesertX AlUla with her installation named Dark Suns, Bright Waves which consists of 10 pieces of free-standing walls covered with black-and-white patterns whose geometric composition is moving, reminiscent of natural forms, incorporating digital representations such as waves, suns or reminiscents of flowers, which are patterns commonly found in nature. By transforming these natural forms into symbols Comte takes on the mediation between nature and the audience to convey the artistic intention and the conceptual message. The artist was also guided by the German biologist and philosopher Ernst Haeckel’s theories and research material on the production of the Dark Suns, Bright Waves. Merging natural shapes with visual designs and blending life with digital elements, this dynamic installation hints at the ancient transformation of the world, presenting itself as a remarkable presence amidst a stunning natural backdrop of unparalleled beauty such as the desert.

Another masterpiece of Comte was installed at the Fundación Casa Wabi, a residency founded by Bosco Sodi which is a non-profit, civil association that fosters an exchange between contemporary art and local communities in Puerto Escondido, Mexico. The wall painting was on a standing wall, titled From Where We Rise (2023), made of organic material soil which blends into the picturesque view of the landscape as another influential social activism statement. The rapidly intensifying pattern of irregular wave shapes in brick-red is dancing in harmony within fragile form reflecting the human presence within the universe at the centre of the local ecosystem of the indigenous culture. “The point of departure is always the source material I find in nature. Waves or sound frequencies, spider nests or other vibrations. The strong motion, the movement from left to right almost feels like a vacuum or implosion. The idea that it represents nature and its mathematical make-up, from macro, a sense of the universal connection to the micro, the lines themselves guiding you through the long hallway/space is what interested me to transmit,” Comte says.

The surface of the world is not Comte’s only interest. In 2019, the artist collaborated with TBA21–Academy (Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary) which is a non-profit organisation fostering a deeper relationship with the ocean and other bodies of water through the lens of art to inspire care and action. Comte installed a permanent underwater sculpture titled “Underwater Cacti in Jamaica’s heavenly blue ocean. This time the sculpture interacts with the inhabitants of the ocean and is intended to revive the reef and serve as a fresh habitat for indigenous marine creatures once it’s covered with coral. 

Comte reminds us of the sacred duty of an artist during times of crisis and instrumentalises her practice as a cautionary measure against imminent disasters. Whether with her Underwater Cacti sculpture or the otherworldly wall painting installation in the middle of nowhere, just like an infinite number of lines passing through a single point, Comte’s works convey an infinite number of meanings.