Artist: Alexandre Lavet
Exhibition title: (､ﾝ､)
Venue: Dürst Britt & Mayhew, The Hague, The Netherlands
Date:September 2, 2022 – February 5, 2023 (first version)
Photography: Gert Jan van Rooij and Alexandre Lavet / copyright the artist and courtesy by Dürst Britt & Mayhew, The Hague
Note: an accompanying essay by neither neither (an undisclosed entity) is available here
Alexandre Lavet’s work constantly seems to hover on the verge of presence and disappearance. He plays with the apparent homogeneity of exhibition spaces to uncover the details that mark the uniqueness and specificity of each place. It is these particularities that Lavet wants to bring to light, thereby slowing down the viewers’ gaze and making them more aware of their surroundings.
For (、ﾝ、), his second solo exhibition at Dürst Britt & Mayhew Alexandre Lavet proposed to relocate all the packed artworks from the gallery’s storage to the main exhibition space. By this intervention he allows the audience to enter an environment full of ‘sleeping’ artworks, a moment of stasis, and of anticipation of what is hiding in the crates and bubblewrap. The exhibition space has been darkened and in some places resembles the artist’s own bedroom: the walls have a similar colour and mouldings and even the cling on the entrance door has been replicated. Piles of literature about sleeping and rest are strewn throughout the space and the artist’s custom made pajamas are lying about. Drawings of cartoon characters at rest are placed on top of some of the artworks. When one listens carefully one can hear the muffled sounds of the outside world as if in a state between sleeping and waking, between dreaming and reality.
Alexandre Lavet (France,1988) received both his BFA and MFA from the École Supérieure d’Art in Clermont-Ferrand, France. Recent solo exhibitions include ‘Everyday, I don’t’ at CAC Passerelle in Brest, France, ’Learn from yesterday. Live for today. Look to tomorrow. Rest this afternoon’ at Deborah Bowmann in Brussels, ‘I would prefer not to’ at Galerie Paris-Beijing in Paris, and ‘La cigarette n’a pas le même goût au soleil’ at Dürst Britt & Mayhew. Recent group exhibitions include ‘When in Doubt, Go to a Museum’ at City Museum of Ljubljana, ‘Grand Salon’ at Centre d’Art Contemporain/Passages in Troyes, France, ‘Olaph the Oxman’ at Copperfield Gallery, London, ‘Vision’ at Palais de Tokyo in Paris, ‘Run Run Run’ at Villa Arson in Nice, and ‘The Context’ at Museum Flehite in Amersfoort, Netherlands. His work is held in private and public collections, including the moraes-barbosa collection in São Paulo, The EKARD collection and the Lisser Art Museum (LAM) in The Netherlands. Alexandre Lavet is living and working in Brussels.
Alexandre Lavet, (、ﾝ、) , 2022, exhibition view, Dürst Britt & Mayhew, The Hague
Alexandre Lavet, Avenue Louis Bertrand (door cling), 2022, bronze, 9 x 10 x 17,5 cm, edition of 3 + 2 AP
Alexandre Lavet, (、ﾝ、) , 2022, exhibition view, Dürst Britt & Mayhew, The Hague
Alexandre Lavet, Act n°33 “Empty the storage and show all the artworks that were sleeping inside”, 2022, site-specific installation
Alexandre Lavet, Nap study, 2018, Wenzhou paper, glue, 43 × 57 cm and 46 × 54 cm
Alexandre Lavet, (、ﾝ、) , 2022, exhibition view, Dürst Britt & Mayhew, The Hague
Alexandre Lavet, Tsundoku, 2019-2022, varnish, toner transfer, gesso, plywood or toner transfer on carved plywood, dimensions variable (sculptures made from the artist own library, each stack of books unique)
Alexandre Lavet, (、ﾝ、) , 2022, exhibition view, Dürst Britt & Mayhew, The Hague
Alexandre Lavet, The good side of life, 2022, graphite on wall, 5 x 4 cm, edition of 1 + 1 AP
Alexandre Lavet, (、ﾝ、) , 2022, exhibition view, Dürst Britt & Mayhew, The Hague
Alexandre Lavet, The Real Truth of Mankind, 2018, synthetic plaster, toner transfer, magnets, 6 × 12 cm each, edition of 1 + 1 AP
Alexandre Lavet, Editor’s Letter, 2022, graphite on folded paper (Awagami Silk Pure White 62g), 20,8 x 14,3 cm
Alexandre Lavet, Editor’s Letter, 2022 (detail)
Alexandre Lavet, UN HOMME QUI DORT, 2022, graphite on folded paper (Awagami Masa 86g), metal plate, magnet, 16 × 7,9 cm (drawing), 24 × 18 cm (metal plate)
Alexandre Lavet, UN HOMME QUI DORT, 2022, graphite on folded paper (Awagami Masa 86g), metal plate, magnet, 16 × 7,9 cm (drawing), 24 × 18 cm (metal plate)
Alexandre Lavet, Act n°33 “Empty the storage and show all the artworks that were sleeping inside”, 2022, site-specific installation
Alexandre Lavet, (、ﾝ、) , 2022, exhibition view, Dürst Britt & Mayhew, The Hague
Alexandre Lavet, Goede nachtrust, 2022, graphite on folded paper (Awagami Silk Pure White 62g), graphite on folded paper (Awagami Silk Pure White 62g), 18 × 9 × 6 cm (bag), 11 × 6 cm (receipt)
Alexandre Lavet, De grandes idées, 2018, synthetic plaster, pigments, toner transfer, colour pencil, 1,7 × 18 × 16 cm
Alexandre Lavet, (、ﾝ、) , 2022, exhibition view, Dürst Britt & Mayhew, The Hague
Alexandre Lavet, LEARN FROM YESTERDAY, 2022, graphite on folded paper (Awagami Silk Pure White 62g), metal plate, magnet, 17 × 11 cm (drawing), 24 × 22 cm (metal plate)
Alexandre Lavet, C’est si bon, 2021, Color pencil on folded paper (Awagami Inbe thick off-white 70g), 18,5 x 15,8 x 11,7 cm / Alexandre Lavet, FRUITS-SAVEUR, 2021 colour pencil on Kraft paper 31 × 20 × 6 cm / Alexandre Lavet, O blé d’art, 2019, colour pencil on paper (Awagami Masa 86g), 22,6 × 11,7 × 6 cm
Alexandre Lavet, The Real Truth of Mankind, 2018, synthetic plaster, toner transfer, magnets, 6 × 12 cm each, edition of 1 + 1 AP
Alexandre Lavet, The good side of life, 2022, graphite on wall, 3,5 x 4,5 cm, edition of 1 + 1 AP
Alexandre Lavet, (、ﾝ、) , 2022, exhibition view, Dürst Britt & Mayhew, The Hague
Alexandre Lavet, Act n°33 “Empty the storage and show all the artworks that were sleeping inside”, 2022, site-specific installation
Alexandre Lavet, The Real Truth of Mankind, 2018, synthetic plaster, toner transfer, magnets, 6 × 12 cm each, edition of 1 + 1 AP
Alexandre Lavet, (、ﾝ、) , 2022, exhibition view, Dürst Britt & Mayhew, The Hague
Alexandre Lavet, (、ﾝ、) , 2022, exhibition view, Dürst Britt & Mayhew, The Hague
Alexandre Lavet, The good side of life, 2022, graphite on wall, 3 x 2,5 cm, edition of 1 + 1 AP
Alexandre Lavet, Tsundoku, 2019-2022, varnish, toner transfer, gesso, plywood or toner transfer on carved plywood, dimensions variable (sculptures made from the artist own library, each stack of books unique)
Alexandre Lavet, Why can’t we sleep, 2022, fabric: 100% seersucker cotton, OEKO-TEX, piping: 100% linen, buttons: Corozo, made in France, OEKO-TEX, tailor made in Brussels, August 2022
Alexandre Lavet, Why can’t we sleep, 2022, fabric: 100% seersucker cotton, OEKO-TEX, piping: 100% linen, buttons: Corozo, made in France, OEKO-TEX, tailor made in Brussels, August 2022
Alexandre Lavet, Why can’t we sleep, 2022, fabric: 100% seersucker cotton, OEKO-TEX, piping: 100% linen, buttons: Corozo, made in France, OEKO-TEX, tailor made in Brussels, August 2022
Alexandre Lavet, Act n°33 “Empty the storage and show all the artworks that were sleeping inside”, 2022, site-specific installation
Alexandre Lavet, Avenue Louis Bertrand (frieze), 2022, synthetic plaster, 25,2 x 26 cm per element
Alexandre Lavet, (、ﾝ、) , 2022, exhibition view, Dürst Britt & Mayhew, The Hague
Alexandre Lavet, The good side of life, 2022, graphite on wall, 2 x 4,5 cm, edition of 1 + 1 AP
Alexandre Lavet, (、ﾝ、) , 2022, exhibition view, Dürst Britt & Mayhew, The Hague
Alexandre Lavet, Tsundoku, 2019-2022 (detail), varnish, toner transfer, gesso, plywood or toner transfer on carved plywood, dimensions variable
Alexandre Lavet, Tsundoku, 2019-2022, varnish, toner transfer, gesso, plywood or toner transfer on carved plywood, dimensions variable
Alexandre Lavet, O blé d’art, 2019, colour pencil on paper (Awagami Masa 86g), 22,6 × 11,7 × 6 cm / Alexandre Lavet, FRUITS-SAVEUR, 2021 colour pencil on Kraft paper 31 × 20 × 6 cm / Alexandre Lavet, C’est si bon, 2021, Color pencil on folded paper (Awagami Inbe thick off-white 70g), 18,5 x 15,8 x 11,7 cm
Alexandre Lavet, SEMIN RENOV, 2022, graphite on folded paper (Awagami Silk Pure White 62g and Awagami Masa 86g), metal plate, magnet, 30 × 23 cm (drawings), 39 × 31 cm (metal plate)
Alexandre Lavet, (、ﾝ、) , 2022, exhibition view, Dürst Britt & Mayhew, The Hague
Alexandre Lavet, The good side of life, 2022, graphite on wall, 2,5 x 4 cm, edition of 1 + 1 AP
Alexandre Lavet, (、ﾝ、) , 2022, exhibition view, Dürst Britt & Mayhew, The Hague
Alexandre Lavet, (、ﾝ、) , 2022, exhibition view, Dürst Britt & Mayhew, The Hague
Alexandre Lavet, (、ﾝ、) , 2022, exhibition view, Dürst Britt & Mayhew, The Hague
Alexandre Lavet, The good side of life, 2022, graphite on wall, 3,5 x 3,5 cm, edition of 1 + 1 AP
Alexandre Lavet, Act n°33 “Empty the storage and show all the artworks that were sleeping inside”, 2022, site-specific installation
Alexandre Lavet, The Real Truth of Mankind, 2018, synthetic plaster, toner transfer, magnets, 6 × 12 cm each, edition of 1 + 1 AP
Alexandre Lavet, Pomme Suntan, 2019, colour pencil on folded Kraft paper, staple, graphite on folded paper (Awagami Masa 86g), 20,2 × 8,2 × 13,8 cm
Alexandre Lavet, Pomme Suntan, 2019, colour pencil on folded Kraft paper, staple, graphite on folded paper (Awagami Masa 86g), 20,2 × 8,2 × 13,8 cm
Alexandre Lavet, (、ﾝ、) , 2022, exhibition view, Dürst Britt & Mayhew, The Hague
Alexandre Lavet, (、ﾝ、) , 2022, exhibition view, Dürst Britt & Mayhew, The Hague
Alexandre Lavet, The good side of life, 2022, graphite on wall,3,5 x 4 cm, edition of 1 + 1 AP
Alexandre Lavet, (、ﾝ、) , 2022, exhibition view, Dürst Britt & Mayhew, The Hague
Alexandre Lavet, Avenue Louis Bertrand (door cling), 2022, bronze, 9 x 10 x 17,5 cm, edition of 3 + 2 AP
Alexandre Lavet, The good side of life, 2022, graphite on wall, 3 x3 cm, edition of 1 + 1 AP
Alexandre Lavet, Act n°37 “Change the logo of the exhibition space”, 2022, altered logo, dimensions variable