About
Nathalie Rey is a French multidisciplinary artist based between Barcelona and Istanbul.
Her practice combines layering, metonymy, humor, and absurdity to explore themes such as history, memory, ecology, consumerism, love or death. Through the voice of an omniscient alter ego—both naive and incisive—she observes the world with curiosity and disbelief, creating works that oscillate between intimacy and critique, the poetic and the political.
Over the years, Rey’s work has become increasingly collaborative and collective, rooted in the belief that art can open spaces for dialogue beyond the polarized frameworks of contemporary society. Her projects often bring together communities, artisans, and women’s groups, fostering encounters grounded in exchange, empathy, and shared creation.
Her methodology embraces a form of wandering—a slow, intuitive process guided by encounters, chance, and the attentive listening of “small stories” that challenge official narratives. By focusing on overlooked places and minor histories, Rey constructs alternative narratives that question dominant power structures and propose other ways of understanding the world.
Originally trained as an architect at the École d’Architecture de Versailles, she later expanded her studies into literature (University of Barcelona), fine arts (Escola Massana), and documentary and artistic photography (IDEP).
Rey has exhibited widely in Turkey, Lebanon, France, Germany, and Spain. Her most recent solo exhibitions include the Arranz-Bravo Foundation, L’Estruch Fàbrica de creació, and the upcoming Museum of Contemporary Art of Mataró (M|A|C), all based in Catalonia. She has also participated in the Andorra and Istanbul Biennials.
Her projects have been supported by the Institut Ramon Llull, and in 2025 she was awarded the Grant for Artistic Creation, Research and Innovation in the Visual Arts by the Government of Catalonia.