Born and raised in Haiti, Nathalie Jolivert is a vibrant artist and architectural designer living in New York City. Nathalie and I met over 14 years ago as students at Rhode Island School of Design. After her architectural studies, she found herself back in Port-au-Prince before moving to New York City where she currently specializes in architectural facade consulting. On any given day, you may find Nathalie suspended on scaffolding in a hard hat, drawing ideas in her sketchbook, or delicately hand-building in clay from a live figure model. I find inspiring her elegant fluidity shifting between different scales of work, and her distinctive sense of form and rich use of color captivate me. Nathalie is our next #NOTmuse and I’m thrilled to take a moment to chat with her.
Nathalie is wearing NOT's Horizontal Top Funnel, surrounded by her own paintings and sculptures.
HOW DID YOU GET INTO THIS PROFESSIONAL NICHE OF ARCHITECTURAL FACADE REPAIRS AND PRESERVATION?
Nathalie: I found out about this niche in a fairly unceremonious fashion - and I mean it - I learned about this field via a recruiting company when I was looking for new opportunities that would allow me to collaborate with larger teams. At the time, I was working with a small architectural office specializing in brownstone restorations and while I was craving for bigger projects and teams, I also knew that I wanted to have a hand in construction details, and to continue learning about the technicalities behind complex designs.
I first started working in the Facade industry at a curtain wall design and engineering company, and when I felt that I was spending too much time behind a screen, I found the perfect opportunity to expand my professional site visits through the field of facade repairs and restoration, as it relates to New York City’s Local Law 11, also known as the Facade Inspection and Safety Program (FISP). I have been working in this world for three years now, and the learning curve is so steep in this field that I’ve felt like I’ve grown tremendously during this short period of time. It does help that the city is my canvas in this field.
Nathalie is wearing NOT's Cropped Tilt Block Sweater.
WHAT HAS SURPRISED YOU IN THE TRAJECTORY OF YOUR CAREER?
The importance we must allocate to how we, as employees, navigate workspace cultures has probably been the most surprising to me. At art and design school, we were always pressed to think big, as creators and potential thought leaders. Even if we were expected to complete several internship programs to obtain our degrees, the actual experience of holding a job and trying to keep your creativity or passion alive despite the intricacies of company bureaucracy, has truly been, and continues to be, surprising or arresting in the trajectory of my career.
As for the field of Facade Repairs in New York City, I think it always surprises people that I can be hanging out for hours on suspended scaffolding to inspect buildings, and that I also uncover some pretty scary defects on buildings. I do walk around the city with a lot more knowledge than I had three years ago, and can point out why a certain structure is scaffolded and what type of repairs it might be needing. It can be both illuminating and, well, worrisome for my walking buddies, so I try not to reveal too much!
DOES YOUR ARCHITECTURAL PRACTICE INFORM YOUR WORK AS A VISUAL ARTIST?
I started my career in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, where I also grew up. This city is visually rich, and also deals with a lot of challenges due to the lack of proper urban infrastructures. My experience studying the urban context of the projects I participated in provided a lot of inspiration for paintings I’ve produced over the last decade. Above all, my final architectural thesis at RISD on spatial narratives around a historic villa based in Haiti, has probably evolved into the most elaborate artistic project of my career, thus far. I collaborated with scholars and artists for the production of artwork and curation of programming that took place at Barnard College shortly before the 2020 lockdown. It’s remained such a surreal and rewarding experience for me and has set the stage for how I hope to continue balancing my passion for historic preservation and the visual arts.
Nathalie is wearing NOT's Bomber Tie Jacket in burnt orange chintz.
Surrounded by her sketches and "Carnet de Voyages".
YOU ARE ALSO A PAINTER AND SCULPTOR WHO HAS HELD SEVERAL EXHIBITIONS. WHAT IDEAS INFORM YOUR WORK?
Apart from my interest in architectural preservation and urban studies, I would say that issues of migration and who has the opportunity to look for better opportunities outside of their countries of origin, are fairly present in my work. In my own privilege to travel to the US at a young age when things were difficult in Haiti, I've never taken the act of traveling back and forth between NY and PauP lightly. My questioning around issues of migration still permeates my work. For my own personal journey coming back to the U.S. after working in Haiti for the first four years of my career, I produced a small booklet “Carnet de Voyages” with black and white ink illustrations that allowed me to explore the feelings I had leaving Haiti and resuming my career in the States, with challenges, yes, but nothing remotely similar to what so many other Haitian people go through. I am now acquiring more skills in ceramics and hope to expand some of those ideas and research how several turmoils might have impacted friends and family members who can relate to my experiences.
WE HAVE BEEN SPEAKING RECENTLY ABOUT OUR OWN ROLES AS ARTISTS/DESIGNERS AND HOW WE ENGAGE WITH THE PUBLIC WHEN IT COMES TO SHARING OR SPEAKING ABOUT OUR WORK. HOW DO YOU ENGAGE AND WHAT PURPOSE DOES IT SERVE FOR YOU?
When exhibiting my work in person, I prioritize my participation in artist talks to share the inspiration behind my pieces. Artist talks, presentations and guided tours are my preferred mode of public engagement. Social media platforms have played an important role in my outreach efforts in the past, however, social media platforms now rely heavily on algorithm manipulation that I find discouraging. As someone who loves journaling, I still continue to post on Instagram quite often because it allows me to keep a visual archive of my process. I use it as a visual business card when I connect with potential clients, in person.
CAN YOU DESCRIBE A FEELING YOU HAVE HAD WHILE WEARING ONE OF YOUR "NOT" PIECES?
I have so much fun wearing my NOT pieces. I remember picking up my very first order, the Cropped Tilt Block Sweater, and wearing it immediately. I've received many compliments while wearing this piece. The overlapping neckline is my favorite moment. I would add that I enjoy, above all, trying out new NOT pieces at your studio and swirling in them. I love how playful your garments are, how elegant I feel in them, and the experience of intentionally planning which pieces will next be part of my wardrobe.
Nathalie is wearing NOT's Horizontal Top Funnel, with her own paintings behind her.
IF YOU HAD A DAY OFF, HOW WOULD YOU BUILD YOUR IDEAL DAY IN NYC?
On a crisp, sunny and non-humid summer day (not asking for much), I would take the ferry to Rockaway Beach, and spend time, laying down, soaking in the sun, reading and drawing. It’s a plus if I could find a great seafood restaurant, but I typically bring my own food so as to remain close to the water for the longest time. As someone who grew up in Haiti but always felt it unnecessarily difficult to reach nice beaches from the city of Port-au-Prince, I enjoy the ease of reaching the beaches of NY, even if they do not compare with the crystal clear waters of the Caribbean. In my more lighthearted series of paintings, I also have been interested in illustrating people enjoying the beach and such days off always feel quite inspiring.
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SHOP WHAT NATHALIE WORE:
