From November 22 to December 4, 2022
Fragility is a daily occurrence for an artists’ collective such as the L’Alcôve gallery collective. It is the cohesion of the group that must be maintained and built upon as new projects and newcomers come along. It is the identity of the group, much more fleeting, shifting and uncertain than that of the individual, and therefore more ephemeral. It is also the capacity of the collective to set its objectives for a common project, as for a photograph testifying to the fragility of the moment.
Once or twice a year, the resident artists of l’Alcôve (both exhibition space and shared workshop, but above all an artists’ collective) get together to create a collective exhibition on a common theme (Landscapes, Ochre…). When the theme of the 16th Lyon Biennial of Contemporary Art was announced, the idea was born to work together on the theme of fragility and to create an exhibition that would resonate with the biennial.
The theme of fragility was already present in the work of several of the seven Alcôve residents, both in the subject explored and in the techniques used. After careful consideration, it was decided to approach the theme through erosion, which has the double advantage of emphasising the temporal dimension of fragility and evoking the material, which by its choice sometimes makes it so manifest. Indeed, in their personal productions, the artists will consider fragility through a reflection on time and the precariousness it induces, while taking back control of the material, worn, fragmented, frayed… which they will cut, glue, burn, sew… until they stop the creation process and thus fix this fragility in the work. Their plurality will offer different approaches to the theme, mixing drawing, volume, installation… from fine paper to transparency in manipulable installations, from constellations to agglomerates, it is a range of fragilities that will be offered to the visitor.
It was also decided to create a collective work on a roll of paper, which is already available to the residents in the workshop space, and on which the artists will work as the project progresses. This collective work, as much by its creation process as by its support, will take up the three aspects of fragility that the collective has retained: the temporality inherent to fragility, the uncertainty that fragility provokes, and the fragile moment on which the representation is fixed. L’Alcôve has also set up monthly slots so that the artists can discuss and consult each other about their productions. Particular attention will be paid to the scenography, which will set the works against each other in order to obtain a coherence and a unity that supports the works presented.
It is this project of nine artists from different backgrounds, gathered in this atypical place that is the Alcove, which will be presented during the collective exhibition “Erosion”, from 22 November to 4 December 2022.
As part of the “Art Gallery Festival”, which takes place from 2 to 4 December, we are organising meetings with all the artists.