Aloïse Corbaz

Switzerland, 1886 – 1964
Aloïse Corbaz’s artistic technique is closely linked to her illness – schizophrenia – and her hospitalization in a psychiatric ward for forty-six years. She used materials she found in garbage cans. These materials were flattened, smoothed and patched together, using white cotton and red thread. The sheets of paper sewn together allowed her to create very large drawings, which Corbaz kept in rolls. The world she created is populated with human figures, animals, flowers and fruits in theatrical performances: some of her themes mimic gestures and poses inspired by illustrated magazines or adopt the attributes and postures of actors in ritual theater or opera. Theater, opera and amorous couples adorn this cosmogony, in which powerful erotic forms are developed.

Biography adapted from “AWARE: Archives of Women Artists” by Catherine Gonnard