Nooni Reatig

Emerging Artist

ARTIST STATEMENT- HARD FEMMES- Nooni Reatig

“Live in the layers, not on the litter.” - Stanley Kunitz, from the poem, The Layers

The Hard Femmes collection is a study of silver as a precious material, questioning how luxury is defined. Luxury is found in the process of making, evidenced by marks the artist leaves behind, and in the search for beauty. This collection explores both the female figure and abstract origami, made up of folds and curves. The two meet at the inflection point where geometric meets organic. The pieces are meant to be mixed or matched.

I was first led to sculpture by way of figure painting. Intuitively, I began folding my paintings into origami constructions. I loved transforming two-dimensional depictions of form into three-dimensional actualized form. I became interested in folding any material I could get my hands on— steel, aluminum, textile, mixed-media, now silver, and learning about how different materials react to pleating and folding. Unlike steel, heated silver is precious in its fragility; it can crumble and shatter. Working with silver, I’ve returned to drawing by way of sculptural form, in hard wire, to interpret the soft lines of a woman’s body. 

Lines and folds are the constants found in the common language between geometry, nature, and pop culture. By appropriating the traditions of craft with pop culture references, I pay homage to Marlene Dietrich, Josephine Baker, Marilyn Monroe, and all the strong femme-inists who continue to inspire and leave their mark throughout history. 

Nooni Reatig

Body of work 2024