With “L’invitation”, Alexandre Benjamin Navet invites us to an imaginary dinner captured from different angles, a poetic experience where each painting becomes an open door, like fragments of the same suspended moment.
Navet extends the dialogue initiated with the public in urban space through his large-scale scenographic projects. This conversation, essential to his practice, takes on an intimate dimension here, where he invites us to join in this supper, to dream about what has been played out or what will happen.
This dramaturgy is expressed in his new way of conceiving his artworks. Cut-out pieces of wood are assembled to give relief to each flat-painted form, creating striking trompe-l’œil effects. Like Morandi’s « interior landscapes », Navet explores the relationship between objects and space in scenes where every detail, from light to form to color, invites the viewer to immerse themselves in this warm atmosphere. Framed like small theaters, the artist introduces shadow play into his creations for the first time, making each object tangible and reinforcing the impression of an evening in motion. At the heart of this staging, the table symbolizes gathering and sharing, while the objects – plates, glasses, chairs – detached from the canvases, embody the silent actors of this invitation.1
‘Blending inspiration from Henri Matisse’s iconic cut-outs and Giorgio Morandi’s serene still lifes, L’Invitation transforms domestic objects into dynamic protagonists in a dreamlike narrative. Explore how Navet’s signature technique of layered, cut-out forms and shadow play brings this intimate supper scene to life, offering a feast for the eyes and the imagination2‘.
- Courtesy of galerie Derouillon, Photography :Grégory Copitet ↩︎
- Whitewall Art | A Feast of Forms and Color at Galerie Derouillon ↩︎
