This is the artist’s second solo exhibition. Blaise Adilon to the Galerie Henri Chartierfollowing that carried out in 2021, Blaise Adilon, Troubled Memories under the police station of Thierry Raspail.
For this event, Blaise Adilon is exhibiting two new series, The herbarium of the future et Ceremonies) in two spaces, at the gallery on rue Auguste Comte and in his house in Brindas where he lives today.
This house was built by his father, the painter and architect Georges Adilon in 1960/1970 and is listed as 20th century heritage.
Robert Pujadecritic and historian of photography, is the author of a text on the latest works of Blaise Adilon, of which here is an extract.
Inner Sight Ceremonies
Blaise Adilon’s self-portrait was indeed born from a photograph. However, some similarities with the pose, the darkness and the light of the Rembrandts painted by himself invite us to consider this image – and thus also his entire work – in an artistic register where photography refrains from faithfully capturing the visible world.
As a result, this self-portrait, located in the forefront of the exhibited series, instructs us on the mode of representation of the artist’s visions. More than a representation, it is in fact a translation into a plastic language of the imaginary forms of his inner gaze.
Thus, we will notice on his face the unequal treatment of the eyes: the left eye is both clear and realistic, the right eye is hidden by a black mask. This difference between an aim in the open air and this same blinded aim symbolizes the opposition between sight and vision, between man and artist.
Indeed, the technique he uses consists of using the surface of the photographic print as if it were a malleable material, in the same way as plaster in sculpture or tempera in painting. He intervenes on the surface of the photographed subjects by modifying at will their positioning in space as well as the outline of their forms until he obtains an image corresponding to his vision of the world. This is how his self-portrait, ignoring a physical resemblance, shows us another himself, unrecognizable in appearance, but very close to his inner world. He then plunges us straight into the invisible source of inspiration that presides over each of his series.
At first glance, the three series by Blaise Adilon presented in two spaces, at the Henri Chartier gallery and in the house where the artist lives, seem dissimilar, judging only by the subjects treated. On the other hand, the titles that concern them are enigmatic: The Herbarium of the Future presents fragments of flowers, Troubled memories obscure images of unspecified events and Ceremonies) effigies from African fetishes. If we stick to what we see at first glance, nothing connects these works to each other except for one easily noticeable detail: each of the series is governed by a preeminence of content over form. In each painting – the size and sumptuousness of the images justify this denomination – the subjects appear or, more precisely, emerge from a uniform background with a level of violence, different according to the series, which deserves the greatest attention.
Robert Pujade
Blaise Adilon: The Herbarium of the Future
September 12 – October 19, 2024
Galerie Henri Chartier
3 rue Auguste Comte
69002 Lyon
+ 33 (0)6 70 74 80 92
www.henrichartier.com
