Les Barrières de l’antique

The inaugural exhibition of the series creates original links between objects and both recent and existing works of art. Its approach goes beyond the traditional hierarchies that govern craft and art, foregrounding magical and therapeutic practices: from artisanal stained glass celebrating Mamadou, the healer of Roubaix, to the cathartic and therapeutic dance of Anna Halprin; from Raymonde Arcier’s feminist dolls to Aline Ribière’s symbolic and organic garments and the shamanic effigies of Harald Thys and Jos de Gruyter. Many of the artists whose work features in the exhibition share a common interest in reconceiving modes of material production and usage by emphasising attention and care. Through their ideas and their gestures, they point to the possibility of a shift in perspective that might allow the world to regain its enchantment.

Visitors to the first exhibition in the series will have noticed the maquettes of Camille Blatrix’s sculptures: a paradoxical choice for an artist who elsewhere seeks to obscure the traces of his physical and gestural interventions. These maquettes offered a foretaste of the themes and atmosphere that permeate this artist’s solo exhibition, curated by Guillaume Désanges and on view at La Verrière from September 5, 2019 as part of the “Matters of Concern| Matières à panser” series. The exhibition’s title, “Les Barrières de l’antique”, evokes the unparalleled virtuosity of the artisans of the past. Camille Blatrix (b. 1984, Paris) here explores the ambiguities of his own relationship to craft through a labyrinthine installation punctuated by objects, marquetry and drawings, as well as interventions by the artist’s father, himself a painter turned shipwright. Infused with the artist’s skill and executed in a quest for perfection, the works on view here subtly elicit unexpected emotions.