Le Journal Exhibitions, Voices

For over 40 years, renowned artist Bertrand Lavier has been a leading figure in the movement of appropriation and ready-mades. Well-known for covering everyday objects in thick, visible “Van Gogh-brushwork’ the objects often become a painted image of themselves. At Art Basel this year, the Kewenig gallery presented a stunning acrylic on plexiglas mirror triptych entitled Pebble Beach, East Lake, Manga.

Lavier’s much-talked about impasto covers most of the reflective surface and more than distorting a person’s attempt to see themselves, this effectively prevents it. If his past work covered furniture and antiquities in thick medium to elevate them from banal objects to fine art, is this Lavier’s way of covering the viewer in the same vein? Or does the distortion of a person’s reflection conflict with vanity and ultimately have the opposite effect?

Join the conversation around this extraordinary work in comments below and tell us what you think about Lavier’s approach.