Starting on March 17, La Criée will host Françoise Quardon. During her first solo exhibition at the Donguy Gallery in 1984, Pierre Giquel attempted to describe the sense of unease he felt upon seeing her early works as follows:
“But how can one describe what one feels then, in that moment and in retrospect, when—as if by magic—what is perverted leads to clarity; how can one describe what joyfully confronts itself and sinks, what intensifies amid torment, sheds all boundaries, what proves its authenticity in panic—a dangerous, though veiled, a burning, senseless celebration, a shifting breach in the flesh… The ceremony to which Françoise Quardon invites us unsettles us like an obvious harbinger of abysses.”
The artist has retained the energy of that intense, formative period. Nevertheless, from a more formal perspective, the lyricism—even the baroque quality—of her early installations has given way to a more rigorous visual composition. Admittedly, her works still combine various media (8 mm films, slides, sound, video, lighting, etc.), but the extensive journey she undertook two years ago in Australia and the U.S. has significantly expanded their scope.