Synopsis

Presented at Galerie Catherine Pennec from late November 2023 to early January 2024 at Clermont-Ferrand, Contorsions by Antony Squizzato revealed a distinctive visual universe shaped by tension, disruption, and shifting balance.

Developed through series defined by deliberately restrained color palettes, the works explored the multiple facets of the contemporary individual, caught in the accelerated rhythms of the modern world and confronted with inner dualities. Moving between geometric rigor and instinctive impulse, the compositions portrayed fragmented figures, unstable relationships, and continuously reconfigured spaces.

Drawing on influences ranging from Constructivism to Pop Art, and asserting a form of “new constructivism,” Squizzato’s practice blended abstraction with narrative, minimalism with expressive tension. Repetition of forms, self-imposed constraints, and the combined use of traditional and digital techniques contributed to the emergence of a visual language that was both structured and free. 

Invited to engage with these open-ended images, viewers were encouraged to project their own interpretations, within a space where meaning remained fluid and was shaped through the interaction between artwork and perception.

Synopsis

From October 5 to November 15, 2023 at Clermont-Ferrand, the Galerie Catherine Pennec showcased contemporary art with the exhibition “Du végétal au minéral” (“From Vegetal to Mineral”) at Clermont-Ferrand. This exhibition brought together the works of three talented artists: Alexandre Breuil (ink), Thomas Fouque (engravings), and Sylvie Pons (ceramics).

Visitors explored the creative worlds of these three artists through Chinese ink, engravings, and ceramic sculptures. Alexandre Breuil delved into human relationships and calligraphy, while Thomas Fouque addressed the concept of metamorphosis, capturing moments of transition from the minuscule to the immense. Sylvie Pons, for her part, experimented with matter to capture movement and vibration, reinterpreting mineral and organic forms.

The opening reception took place on Thursday, October 5, 2023, starting at 6:00 PM, offering an evening rich in discoveries and encounters. The exhibition highlighted the complementarity of Breuil’s, Fouque’s, and Pons’s artistic universes, inviting the public to a dialogue between ink, engravings, and ceramics.

Synopsis

Presented at Galerie Catherine Pennec from September 1 to 30, 2023 at Clermont-Ferrand, Rouilles et Métalmorphoses brought together the works of painter and mixed-media artist Didier Dupeux and sculptor Sébastien Ruiz, creating a dialogue between two distinct approaches to material.

Guided by a close attention to natural elements, Didier Dupeux develops a pictorial language where abstraction and figuration intersect. Surfaces, shaped through oxidation and layered techniques, reveal dense and vibrant textures. His works explore the relationships between humans, animals, and their environment, bringing forth forms that are both organic and evocative.

In contrast, Sébastien Ruiz investigates the expressive potential of metal through sculptures that balance tension and equilibrium. The material, sometimes crushed or combined with other elements, transforms into structures that appear both dynamic and weightless. Each piece reflects a high level of technical mastery in service of a precise and energetic sculptural language.

Placed in dialogue, the works establish a connection between alteration and transformation, between pictorial density and spatial expansion. The exhibition thus offers an exploration of matter in flux, where forms evolve, interact, and respond to one another.

Synopsis

Presented during the summer of 2023 at Galerie Catherine Pennec in Clermont-Ferrand, Faces brought together the works of Laura Fritrisse and Mélik Ouzani, placing two singular artistic worlds in dialogue.

Laura Fritrisse’s work unfolds through a sensitive visual language, where figure and material interact in subtle tension. Forms emerge and transform, revealing presences that appear both assertive and fragile, as if balanced between appearance and disappearance.

In resonance, Mélik Ouzani’s practice engages with structure, rhythm, and composition. His works explore the relationships between lines, surfaces, and space, shaping a visual language that brings together rigor and spontaneity.

Through their confrontation, the works establish a direct dialogue shaped by contrasts and correspondences. Face to face thus offers a meeting ground between two distinct approaches, where the viewer’s gaze moves freely, revealing the richness of perspectives and the complementarity of sensibilities.

Synopsis

Presented during Les Arts en Balade in May 2023 at Clermont-Ferrand, Galerie Catherine Pennec’s program brought together the works of Noworyta and Babu Bommel, creating a dialogue between two distinct artistic worlds.

Noworyta’s work is rooted in a strongly material approach, where reclaimed posters become the very substance of the painting. Human and animal figures, as well as objects, emerge from these layered surfaces, conveying a direct and unfiltered perspective on a world where communication is fading. His work challenges and engages the viewer in an open reflection on contemporary tensions.

In contrast, Babu Bommel’s paintings develop a luminous figurative language, driven by a vibrant palette. Everyday scenes, landscapes, and still lifes compose a sensitive universe where color structures space and infuses each subject with a distinctive energy.

Through their coexistence, the works establish a dialogue between material density and chromatic brightness, between tension and harmony. This encounter has offered visitors a rich and nuanced experience, where perspectives and sensibilities intersect and respond to one another.

Synopsis

Presented at Galerie Catherine Pennec in April 2023 at Clermont-Ferrand, Parenthèse abstraite brought together the works of Arthur Dorval, Pierre Berger and Théo Lopez, two leading figures of the new generation of contemporary abstract painting.

Placed in dialogue, their approaches established a subtle interplay between construction and spontaneity. Arthur Dorval’s compositions unfolded a reinvented geometry, structured through intertwined forms and chromatic tensions, while Théo Lopez’s paintings conveyed a vibrant energy, driven by precise gestures and resonances drawn from lived experience.

This juxtaposition revealed distinct yet complementary visual languages, both rooted in a strong commitment to experimentation and the search for balance. Between formal rigor and gestural freedom, the works shaped a pictorial field in motion, animated by contrasts and correspondences.

Conceived as a moment of pause within the gallery’s program, Abstract Interlude offered visitors a space for attentive viewing, where each individual could develop a personal interpretation of the works.

Synopsis

Presented at Galerie Catherine Pennec from March 9 to April 20, 2023 at Clermont-Ferrand, in collaboration with Galerie XII Paris, Dans la tête de Nicolas Baghir  brought together the works of photographer Nicolas Baghir and sculptor Diane de Sein Léger.

Structured around the concept of “photographic flows,” developed by Nicolas Baghir in opposition to the traditional notion of series, the exhibition has featured a body of work combining major pieces and recent creations.

Emerging from “La Chambre,” the artist’s small Paris studio where his visual language has taken shape, this work has explored a form of image “extraction,” blending altered memory, perceptual shifts, and suspended time. Created without post-production, the photographs have blurred the boundaries between painting and photography, giving rise to transformed figures and open-ended narratives.

In resonance, Diane de Sein Léger’s sculptures have extended this exploration of movement and transformation. Shaped from a variety of materials, her forms—at times pared down, at times more sensual—have captured dynamics inspired by the body, nature, and abstraction, inviting both visual and sensory engagement.

Placed in dialogue, the works have established a connection between two distinct practices, brought together by a shared focus on gesture, material, and perception. The exhibition has thus offered a space where images and volumes interacted, allowing each viewer to form their own interpretation.

Synopsis 

Presented at Galerie Catherine Pennec from late January to early March 2023 at Clermont-Ferrand, “Ces blancs que je creuse” by Laurent Delaire has explored the subtle presence of light within the pictorial space.

Through a series of chiaroscuro paintings, the artist examines the emergence of forms, revealed by light filtering through darkness. By gradually removing layers of paint, figures and landscapes emerge, appearing suspended within an uncertain depth.

Drawing on traditional genres—landscape, still life, vanitas—the works incorporate symbolic motifs such as burning candles, open roads, silent interiors, and distant horizons. These images suggest reflections on time, impermanence, and inner journeys.

The artist’s gesture, akin to that of a restorer, consists in revealing the white of the gesso beneath the painted surface, making light itself a central subject. From this process emerges a form of unveiling, where the image takes shape as much through what is revealed as through what is removed.

The exhibition has thus offered a contemplative space in which matter, light, and silence interact, inviting viewers to develop their own personal interpretations of the works.