The seventh exhibition of the Hermès Foundation ‘La Verrière’: In a Cruel Reality

안녕하세요. 오늘은 에르메스 재단의 일곱 번째 전시회 ‘La Verrière’에 대해 이야기해 보겠습니다. 이 전시회의 주인공은 세네갈 다카르 출신의 예술가 펠라지 가바이디로, 그녀의 작품은 심각한 사회 문제를 다루며 깊은 메시지를 전달합니다. 그녀의 예술은 현실의 불합리함 속에서도 안전한 공간을 상상하며, 인간성의 치유 과정을 반영합니다. 이제 구체적인 방법을 아래에서 확인해 보도록 하겠습니다.

The seventh protagonist of the series exhibition <Solos Augmentés> held at the Hermès Foundation La Verrière is Pélagie Gbaguidi, an artist from Dakar, Senegal, who is active in Belgium.

In a Cruel Reality

This exhibition is curated by Joël Riff, who plans a new theme every three months, inviting one main artist along with external artists related to them. This exhibition, titled ‘Antre,’ features Pélagie Gbaguidi’s works alongside furniture from the emerging design group Aygo, writings by French author Sophie Marie Larrouy, sculptures by Marianne Berenhaut, and embroidery works by Jamaican textile artist Hessie.

 

‘Antre’ is a French word meaning refuge or den, and it aptly reflects the artist’s tendencies. Pélagie Gbaguidi creates works with an anti-authoritarian and anti-academic attitude, poetically expressing serious social issues such as colonialism, migration, identity, and power relations through various artistic practices including painting, drawing, performance, and installation. Her works imagine a safe space that does not exist amidst the absurdities of reality and reflect on the process of healing a wounded and fragmented humanity.

Gbaguidi completes her paintings and drawings using pigments such as acrylic, pencil, and pastel on everyday materials like torn pages from notebooks, bed sheets, and flour sacks instead of using traditional canvases. Though simple materials, they carry intense messages, and the sentences within her works further clarify her philosophy.

She opposes imperialism and expansionism, aiming to find a balance between what we have violated and what needs to be returned, and to promote a proper understanding of how to accept the outcomes. This reflects the realities of minority groups that are still threatened today and emphasizes the importance of the ‘safe space’ that art can provide.

Ironically, this exhibition is her first solo show in Brussels, Belgium, where she resides. She created most of her works in her studio, located 12 km south of the exhibition space, focusing particularly on painting and drawing. The walls of the exhibition space are adorned with works that encapsulate her long-explored painting expressions, while the sculptures, embroidery, and furniture from invited external artists are arranged organically, as if engaging in a dialogue with each other.

Hessie, who was born in Jamaica in 1933 and became an artist through self-study, presents her embroidery works that reveal a subtle presence between Gbaguidi’s paintings. She has established the concept of ‘Survival Art,’ conveying messages connected to women’s solidarity and feminist movements through sewing work that repairs, heals, and connects using easily accessible everyday materials and discarded waste.

Another sculptor, Marianne Berenhaut, expresses the damages, traumas, and absurdities that remain in society through her works. She creates intense yet fragile sculptures from materials collected on the streets, and her works, which encapsulate loss and memory, enrich the depth of the exhibition.

One of the striking elements in the exhibition space is the furniture created by the young design group ‘Aygo’ based in Brussels. Formed in 2022 by four designers born between 1996 and 1999, they are gaining international attention for their innovative hospitality designs. The New York Times described their work in September 2024 as ‘the most disruptive artistic experiment.’ Pélagie Gbaguidi reportedly visited their atelier called ‘Espace Aygo’ in April 2024 and was deeply impressed.

The papier-mâché wall shelves, bathtubs coated with urethane rubber, and vases carved from recycled wood they created have established a primal yet innovative space. Their working methods resonate with Gbaguidi’s philosophy of addressing the contradictions of modern society and seeking solutions through artistic revolution.

Ultimately, the ‘Antre’ exhibition is not just a simple refuge but a space that proposes exits to solve the problems we face. Artistic dialogues that transcend generations and races expand our perspectives and reveal the necessity of intergenerational communication in the process of discovering the commonality shared by artists from different eras. Within this, we experience the healing and restorative power that art can provide.

Information
Antre
Location La Verrière
Duration January 15, 2025 – March 29, 2025
Hours Tuesday-Saturday (12:00 PM – 6:00 PM) *Free admission
Website Homepage

Provided and coordinated by Hermès Foundation