Giorgia Basili writes on Thomas Devaux’s solo exhibition Cet obscur objet du désir in Exibart magazine.
The most striking space is that of the mega-gallery La Patinoire Royale Bach, founded by Valérie Bach in the Saint-Gille district. A thousand square meters allow the gallery to propose in-depth monographic exhibitions in three different environments: a main nave with a high ceiling covered in dark wooden trusses, the Glass Roof and the Project Room.
The solo show Cet obscur objet du désir (the title is taken from Luis Buñuel) by Thomas Devaux moves between the religious and the profane, using dichroic mirrors that capture the light and reflect bluish and orange glows. The shapes of the works with gold leaf frames on aluminum recall the Art Deco aesthetic. The work Totem brings to mind the work of Dan Flavin and his interest in the luminous aspect.
Devaux's reflective surfaces include – recalling the surfaces of daguerreotypes – photographs of food products and shoppers with supermarket bags, criticizing the obsession with disposable goods, consumerism and Black Friday. Can we talk about magnetism if we consider the two poles of the consumer and the object? We are talking about desire, manipulation and psychological tricks that lead us to spend.
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