The installation view of the exhibition, courtesy of Koenig Gallery Seoul
Paris-based artist Cledia Fourniau’s solo exhibition MASHENUP at Koenig Seoul offers an immersive exploration of abstraction, materiality, and introspection. Featuring 16 new paintings, including a large-scale diptych and her signature small-format pieces, MASHENUP marks Fourniau’s debut in South Korea, running from October 26 to November 30, 2024.
The exhibition’s title alludes to the concept of a “mash-up,” blending disparate elements to create a harmonious whole, mirroring Fourniau’s method of combining seemingly unrelated materials, forms, and colors. Through MASHENUP, Fourniau invites viewers to experience how “mistakes” or unexpected elements become sources of innovation. For her, these accidental occurrences reveal new directions in art, as errors in language or process open doors to alternative expressions.
Fourniau’s new works feature a dynamic contrast between bold, vibrant compositions and more muted, restrained pieces, all framed with her characteristic orange or colored borders. This framing technique serves as a visual rhythm, creating cohesion across varied forms and tones. The artist’s recent shift towards quieter imagery offers a new sense of calm, balancing against her more exuberant works to foster a rich interplay of energies.
The installation view of the exhibition, courtesy of Koenig Gallery Seoul
For the first time, Fourniau has incorporated materials like metallic silver and gold pigments, bleach, and matte finishes, enhancing her paintings with reflective surfaces that shift based on the viewer’s position. The silver-gray linen canvases absorb and reflect light in ways that feel both timeless and transformative, inviting viewers to engage physically with the works. This reflective quality aligns with Nietzsche’s concept that “If you gaze long into the abyss, the abyss gazes back at you,” emphasizing the role of introspection in her art.
Drawing inspiration from artists like Robert Ryman, Fourniau focuses on the raw materiality of the canvas and the process itself. In her larger canvases, she allows irregular marks from rabbit-skin glue to dictate the painting’s form, yielding a work that emerges through a blend of intention and accident. This organic approach exemplifies her balance between spontaneity and control, as she lets the form come to her rather than imposing structure.
Fourniau’s paintings incorporate diverse artistic vocabularies, engaging with modernist gestures—geometric shapes, stains, projected forms—while echoing the meditative minimalism of Korea’s Dansaekhwa movement. Inspired by Gaston Bachelard’s spatial philosophy, she brings attention to peripheral spaces, focusing on the often-overlooked corners of her canvases. This focus invites viewers to question traditional hierarchies in art composition, challenging the primacy of the center in favor of a more holistic view.
Through MASHENUP, Fourniau encourages a slower, more thoughtful engagement with her works. The exhibition resists grandiose statements, favoring an intimate connection that reflects the artist’s own life. Her paintings ask viewers to delve into personal memory and material, fostering a contemplative approach to abstract art. This layered narrative adds another dimension to Fourniau’s exploration, offering an exhibition that is both visually arresting and deeply introspective.
The installation view of the exhibition, courtesy of Koenig Gallery Seoul
Paris-based artist Cledia Fourniau’s solo exhibition MASHENUP at Koenig Seoul offers an immersive exploration of abstraction, materiality, and introspection. Featuring 16 new paintings, including a large-scale diptych and her signature small-format pieces, MASHENUP marks Fourniau’s debut in South Korea, running from October 26 to November 30, 2024.
The exhibition’s title alludes to the concept of a “mash-up,” blending disparate elements to create a harmonious whole, mirroring Fourniau’s method of combining seemingly unrelated materials, forms, and colors. Through MASHENUP, Fourniau invites viewers to experience how “mistakes” or unexpected elements become sources of innovation. For her, these accidental occurrences reveal new directions in art, as errors in language or process open doors to alternative expressions.
Fourniau’s new works feature a dynamic contrast between bold, vibrant compositions and more muted, restrained pieces, all framed with her characteristic orange or colored borders. This framing technique serves as a visual rhythm, creating cohesion across varied forms and tones. The artist’s recent shift towards quieter imagery offers a new sense of calm, balancing against her more exuberant works to foster a rich interplay of energies.
The installation view of the exhibition, courtesy of Koenig Gallery Seoul
For the first time, Fourniau has incorporated materials like metallic silver and gold pigments, bleach, and matte finishes, enhancing her paintings with reflective surfaces that shift based on the viewer’s position. The silver-gray linen canvases absorb and reflect light in ways that feel both timeless and transformative, inviting viewers to engage physically with the works. This reflective quality aligns with Nietzsche’s concept that “If you gaze long into the abyss, the abyss gazes back at you,” emphasizing the role of introspection in her art.
Drawing inspiration from artists like Robert Ryman, Fourniau focuses on the raw materiality of the canvas and the process itself. In her larger canvases, she allows irregular marks from rabbit-skin glue to dictate the painting’s form, yielding a work that emerges through a blend of intention and accident. This organic approach exemplifies her balance between spontaneity and control, as she lets the form come to her rather than imposing structure.
Fourniau’s paintings incorporate diverse artistic vocabularies, engaging with modernist gestures—geometric shapes, stains, projected forms—while echoing the meditative minimalism of Korea’s Dansaekhwa movement. Inspired by Gaston Bachelard’s spatial philosophy, she brings attention to peripheral spaces, focusing on the often-overlooked corners of her canvases. This focus invites viewers to question traditional hierarchies in art composition, challenging the primacy of the center in favor of a more holistic view.
Through MASHENUP, Fourniau encourages a slower, more thoughtful engagement with her works. The exhibition resists grandiose statements, favoring an intimate connection that reflects the artist’s own life. Her paintings ask viewers to delve into personal memory and material, fostering a contemplative approach to abstract art. This layered narrative adds another dimension to Fourniau’s exploration, offering an exhibition that is both visually arresting and deeply introspective.
