Lei SAITO - Idir DAVAINE
91,530 Le Marais invites Lei Saito and Idir Davaine to celebrate nature during a residency. Lei and Idir find common ground in their exploration of the delicacy of forms, their attention to details, nature, and the symbols they extract from it.
Lei's creations, which she herself describes as "delicious," merge visual art and gastronomy: from knife holders resembling meringues to "existential cuisine," she creates artworks to be savored with the eyes. The adjective goes beyond a gustatory experience but extends to aesthetics, visual appeal, and emotion. Idir shares with Lei a deep love for nature, celebrating the simplicity of its forms. Though they employ different artistic mediums, they nonetheless share a common language in their desire to extract and highlight intangible elements.
The Marais estate provides a unique setting for the exhibition. Drawing inspiration from the surrounding marshes, forests, and stone quarries, the artists engage in a dialogue with this distinctive environment. Lei's colorful spheres, with intriguing beauty, can be interpreted as seeds, water droplets, or planets, echoing the omnipresence of water around the Château du Marais. Her artistic approach is deeply attuned to the place, its history, and its peculiarities. The reference to Gaston Bachelard and his "Poetics of Space" adds a layer of depth by exploring the memories and recollections of the house. Idir's canvases, on the other hand, absorb the essence of the surroundings, after a long process of sedimentation that results in abstract, organic, and colorful forms. It is an aesthetic and symbolic encounter where art engages with the environment in a profound and meaningful way.
Together, Lei and Idir's works engage in a rich dialogue with the exhibition site, creating an immersive experience where art and nature intertwine to offer a poetic exploration of space, memory, and sensation; we invite you to savor every detail.
