About 40 years ago, renowned Argentine painter Vivian Suter, born in Buenos Aires and raised in Basel, Switzerland, decided to settle in the Guatemalan jungle in Panajachel, on the shores of Lake Atitlán. For the Mayan communities in the Atitlán basin, the lake is more than just a water source; in their worldview, it is a living entity, a sacred place. Her home is a house studio nestled in the tropical rainforest, surrounded by lush vegetation that inspires her paintings. There, Suter works outdoors every day among the trees, sometimes completing a painting in a single day. The local atmosphere, climate, vegetation and animals have become central themes in her work.

A collection of 500 paintings from the past decade is on display in her latest exhibition, Disco, which recently opened at the Museu de Arte, Arquitetura e Tecnologia (MAAT) in Lisbon, Portugal. This museum, an impressive architectural structure with a wavy façade along the Tagus River on the historic Belém waterfront, will host the exhibition until March 17, 2025. The show will then travel to the Palais de Tokyo in Paris, marking another milestone in Suter's career.

In MAAT's Oval Gallery, the works are presented in an installation that evokes a jungle labyrinth, reflecting the artist's residence. The paintings—some up to three metres long—are freely hung in the space without frames, titles, dates, or signatures. The canvases overlap; they are suspended from the ceiling, placed on storage-like structures, or even laid directly on the floor. The result is a vibrant and visually striking ensemble, allowing the audience to experience the works from multiple angles. They reveal the energy of the brushstrokes, combining splashes of paint with dripping marks. Together, they convey a mix of chaos and serenity reminiscent of how she is inspired by nature.

In Panajachel, Suter found the perfect place to refocus and distance herself from the influences of the art world. During the 1970s, she was part of a thriving art scene in Basel. However, by the end of the decade, she made a deliberate decision to step away. “Panajachel is a small town with a beautiful lake and three volcanoes near the mountains, on an old coffee plantation. I chose to live there first because of the language—I was born in Argentina—and also because of the vegetation, the sun, the people and their Mayan history. Plus, I wanted to move away from the influences of the art world. I wanted to find my own voice,” she recounts as she walks through her first solo exhibition in the Portuguese capital.

Suter’s artistic practice is deeply intertwined with the ecosystem around her including atmospheric elements of her environment. Using acrylics, oils and pigments, she paints outdoors, creating abstract works filled with vibrant colours and organic forms. Afterwards, she removes the canvases from their frames and leaves them exposed outdoors for days—or even weeks—at the mercy of rain, wind, humidity, soil, tree leaves, dirt, or insects. Even the random footprints of her pets become part of the work. Indeed, the exhibition’s title, Disco, is one of her dog’s names.

In 2005 and again in 2010, two devastating tropical storms struck Guatemala and Suter’s home, marking a turning point in her career. Initially believing she had lost everything, Suter had a “revelatory” moment while assessing what could be salvaged from the damage. She realised that nature could also be part of the artwork, imbuing her pieces with an unexpected, lively quality. Since then, her works have featured all sorts of unexpected elements.

“Nothing I’ve done as an artist would make sense without this place, without these trees, without the leaves, without my dogs, who follow me everywhere,” declares Suter, who has exhibited at Documenta 14, the Secession in Vienna, in São Paulo at the biennale in 2012, the Art Institute of Chicago and the Reina Sofía Museum in Madrid in 2021.

“This exhibition emphasises Vivian’s connection to her place of residence. She paints outdoors. Her work is spontaneous and original and reflects her bond with nature, trees, plants, wind and rain. In an era as technological as ours, Suter is an artist who breaks the rules and returns to the origins of painting,” explains curator Sérgio Mah. “Each work is a documentation of a performance the canvas underwent in the jungle environment,” adds Mah.

One of the most striking examples of this idea is an untitled painting that directly reflects its environment. Created after a tropical storm, the piece carries traces of soil, rain stains and fragments of leaves that remained embedded in the pigment. Its abstract composition captures the unpredictable interaction between the artist’s hand and the forces of nature she embraces. Suter transforms her connection to nature into an intimate artistic expression that celebrates the impermanence and beauty of nature in its purest form.