From April 2 to November 26, 2023, Punta della Dogana presents the thematic exhibition "Icônes" which revolves around works from the Pinault Collection.

In “Uncreatures” and “Stase,” two recent series of works, Chambaud modifies religious icons by covering them with gold leaf (except for a few sensory organs) or 3D-printed materials. In his own words, these series exist “between absence and presence, between being and becoming, between here and elsewhere, between what exists, what is present and what could appear.”

The “disfigurement” to which the artist subjects his “Uncreatures” by applying new gilding that contrasts with the original paradoxically accentuates the presence of the hidden figure. (…) Thus metamorphized by this “irreparable caesura,” the icons become elusive enigmas, their presence stronger and more disturbing.

Curator: Emma Lavigne, CEO of Pinault Collection, with Bruno Racine, CEO and Director, Palazzo Grassi — Punta della Dogana.

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Étienne Chambaud
"Uncreature", 2022
Tempera and gold leaf on wood panel
40 × 30.8 × 5.1 cm
📷 Aurélien Mole, courtesy of the artist