BLACK & WHITE

“The astonishing thing about this couple [black and white] is that it has the capacity to describe reality on its own, provided of course that all the gray shades between the colors are declined.”

Michel Pastoureau and Dominique Simonet, Les couleurs expliquées en images, Edition Seuil, 2015, p.139

The particular period we are going through seems to be conducive to this universal and timeless theme of Black and White. Will the World of tomorrow be more Manichean… ? or will we be better able to appreciate all these shades of grey which make Life vibrate? Because as Romain Gary says so well:

“The white and black, there is enough. The gray, there is only that of human. “The Kites, 1980

This exhibition will be an opportunity to unveil several new works.

First, two tapestries after works on paper by the brilliant sculptor and designer Philippe Hiquily. The Galerie Chevalier, in partnership with the Hiquily Committee, has selected two drawings from the late 1970s-1980s that have been translated into wool, by expert hands, in the workshop of Catherine Bernet in Aubusson. Let’s remember that since 2009, Unesco has registered the Aubusson tapestry as an Intangible Heritage of Humanity! On a white background, the black and voluptuous silhouettes stand out in a play of curves and counter curves, full and empty. Their appearance evokes the artist’s furniture and sculptures and reflects above all his vision of female beauty.

The exhibition also highlights two new French artists with whom the gallery has begun a recent collaboration: Yentele and Victoria Tanto.

Yentele constellates her canvases of old and raw linen, with traces of black paint. The gesture is quick and precise, then comes the time to lay down her colored embroideries, nestled in the geometric patterns. 

The majesty of Yentele’s painted and embroidered canvases is matched by the cartographic microcosms of Victoria Tanto’s works. Made from patiently twisted threads, her textile creations grow slowly, to the rhythm of a meticulous technique.