Imperfections Alignées

Imperfections Alignées is where the practice begins: the discovery, and then the acceptance, of imperfection inside a language built for control. Minimalist compositions on paper: repeated hand-drawn lines, geometric forms, negative space, a vocabulary carried over from twenty years of graphic design. The title says exactly what the work does: imperfections aligned, not corrected, not hidden.

After twenty years of Swiss graphic design, where every line could be corrected, I need to know what my hand does once I stop correcting it. My autoimmune condition causes tremors. In design, that's never a problem: everything gets fixed before anyone sees it. In painting, nothing does: the line, once drawn, stays. This is the first medium where my body becomes visible, and I decide it will be the material, not the flaw. I keep the paper, the calligraphic pens, the discipline of composition, everything from my profession. I only change the goal: instead of hiding the irregular line, I build a system where the line stays exactly as it comes.

From a distance, the compositions read as strict: repeated lines, geometric shapes, careful negative space. Get closer, and the discipline gives way: every line carries the same small variation, present and never twice alike. The work asks the viewer to do what the hand already did, get close enough to see the system fail to stay perfect, and find that the failure isn't a flaw in the language. It's the whole point of it.

Imperfections Alignées, made between early 2023 and late 2024, was first shown at Galerie Lac, Vevey (CH), 8 to 23 November 2024, as my first solo exhibition. Everything in the practice since stands on this foundation.

Contemporary art gallery with a hanging white T-shirt, abstract paintings on the walls, and a minimalist circular display platform near a window.
Empty wire chair in front of a white wall with two modern abstract paintings, one with yellow, black, and white stripes, and the other blue with black accents, on a polished concrete floor next to a rough, exposed stone wall.
Galerie d'art moderne avec des peintures abstraites sur les murs et deux chaises en fil métallique.
An art gallery corner with four abstract paintings mounted on white walls, a black wireframe chair, and a small potted plant. The ceiling has exposed wooden beams and track lighting.
Two modern abstract fabric wall art pieces with geometric shapes and horizontal lines in black, white, and blue hanging on a concrete wall.
Art gallery displaying geometric abstract artworks with black, white, blue, and red colors on a concrete wall and white partition.
Exposition d'art avec peintures modernes sur des murs blancs et deux chaises métalliques.
Galerie d'art moderne avec des œuvres abstraites et un intérieur minimaliste.
A white T-shirt hanging on a hanger. The T-shirt has a black graphic design featuring two tall, abstract rectangular shapes with textured lines.
Galerie d'art moderne avec des œuvres abstraites et un t-shirt imprimé.
Exposition d'art moderne avec des œuvres colorées et abstraites sur les murs, dans une galerie au plafond en bois.
Galerie d'art minimaliste avec plusieurs petites œuvres abstraites sur les murs, un banc en bois, une chaise noire et un plafond en bois.

Text by Elodie Mastrogiacomo

For her first solo exhibition Imperfections Alignées, Milena Quattrocchi develops a narrative of balance between imperfect lines and geometric shapes—both unexpected and essential to the harmony of her compositions.

Color is the starting point, followed by calligraphic pen lines that echo her background in graphic design—a connection further emphasized by her choice of medium: paper. Yet, her exploration of imperfection consistently breaks away from the straight line. She plays with negative space—neither full nor empty. Everything seems straight, but nothing really is. Still, the story aligns with coherence, creating a subtle graphic tension.

Milena explores a graphic and minimalist universe that questions how imperfection can be accepted and integrated into our contemporary lives—revealing the aesthetics of irregularities while interweaving the core values that guide her daily practice: tension, harmony, contrast and balance.

Her compositions offer a constant dialogue between control and surrender, between order and chaos—giving her artistic vision a unique expressive force, while offering the viewer the freedom to interpret the story through their own sensitivity.

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