The Fantasy Worlds of Elisabeth Bottesi and Emmanuel Fornage at Musée du Pays-d’Enhaut & Swiss Paper Cutting Centre in Château-d’Oex
Between peacock feathers and parrot cages, between Alpine tradition and vivid fantasy, the current paper-cutting exhibition by Elisabeth Bottesi and the late Emmanuel Fornage in Château-d’Oex reveals just how contemporary, colourful and imaginative this centuries-old art form can be.

For decades, paper-cutting enthusiasts in Switzerland and abroad have recognised Elisabeth Bottesi’s unmistakable signature style: intricately layered works cut from coloured paper, often reminiscent of shimmering peacock feathers. These motifs frequently adorn majestic trees that form the ornamental centrepieces of her compositions, lending traditional rural scenes an almost three-dimensional quality.

Yet Bottesi’s work has long evolved beyond the purely traditional. Her characteristic feather motifs now also appear in strikingly modern compositions, from urban scenes to the luminous Composition in Red. This artistic range is at the heart of the current exhibition at the Musée du Pays-d’Enhaut & Swiss Paper Cutting Centre in Château-d’Oex, which brings together works by the Gstaad-raised artist and French paper-cutting virtuoso Emmanuel Fornage.

The teacher from Troyes, who passed away unexpectedly shortly before the exhibition opening on 4 April, became best known for his largely symmetrical black-and-white illustrations inspired by fables and fairy tales. Having learned the craft more than twenty years ago in the Pays-d’Enhaut, Fornage also approached the tradition with a spirit of experimentation and visible joy. Multicoloured works such as Fonds sous marin (Underwater World), Amazonie and Cage aux perroquets (Parrot Cage) reveal an artist who did far more than simply master precision cutting: he created entire fantasy worlds from paper.

The exhibition has been extended until 5 July: Elisabeth Bottesi / Emmanuel Fornage, Musée du Pays-d’Enhaut & Swiss Paper Cutting Centre, Château-d’Oex. Open daily from 1.30pm–5.30pm (closed Sundays).

Based on AvS |  MARTIN GURTNER-DUPERREX