Dear Shaded Viewers,
The Mennour gallery, located on rue Saint-André-des-Arts (6th arrondissement), dedicates it’s new exhibition “A Minima” to a dialogue between Jean Degottex, an important figure of abstraction and a major influence on contemporary art, who passed away in 1988, and Sidival Fila, born in 1962, whose work lies between textile sculpture and painting.
In this retrospective, the works of the two artists converse with one another. Degottex is represented through collages and paintings, while Fila presents a series of canvases conceived in response to Degottex’s practice. Their works complement each other with a distinctive sobriety. Sidival Fila draws on his past in the priesthood, working with numerous pieces of aged fabric, white, beige, or black, which he collects and then stitches, stretches, weaves, or embroiders. In his works, he seeks to liberate the object from its material condition; the reclaimed fabric, rendered obsolete for any other use, begins to speak, revealing it’s history.
Jean Degottex, for his part, explores erasure through his almost imperceptible collages. His works aim to lead viewers into a state of catharsis, blending energetic fields with his pictorial gesture and the progressive absence of paint, leaving almost no motif visible.
Though distinct in their approaches, the two artists share a common desire for expression and the transformation of reclaimed materials into contemplative artworks. Rooted in a form of spirituality, their works become tools for meditation. As in the work of Pierre Soulages, one also finds similarities in the way their surfaces sculpt sunlight.
Later,
Alex
