Art Trope Gallery presents "Mirrors: The Power of Reflection" From the 2nd of March to the 5th of June 2021

Meeting with the artists at the gallery on May 29th, 2021 starting at 11am

Art-Trope is delighted to present its new exhibition called “Mirrors: The Power of Reflection”. It is a collective exhibition displaying the works from 14 of our artists in a miscellany of media. It aims to examine the formal and visual affinities and contrasts between both our view of the world and how we are seen: a celebration of subjectivity through 40 works visible in a virtual gallery.

Mirrors are unbiased, unwavering, reflecting an untouchable image of what they see before them. Our interpretation states one of the many messages which the reflection can transmit to us.

Visions, observations and challenges, our exhibition constantly presents the multiple possibilities of looking at oneself, at us, at the world and its reality, as presented by our artists.
Our daily views allow this exhibition to demonstrate all the power of reflexivity through our artists and their works with:

ANTOINE BUTTAFOGHI

“Few metaphors turn out to be as rich as those of the mirror. The mirror is able to create the illusion of depth despite its flat surface. Most traditions give it a high importance. Whether it is a philosophical question or a myth (tales, novels and films), it is found everywhere, from the West to the East and through all of Africa. It is a symbol of knowledge and creation which tells us about our nature, but it can also represent lies and delusions. The mirror allows us to see who we are and therefore allows us to question ourselves. It reflects back to us the image of our own humanity.”

The Swan and the Ballerina – Photography – 2018 © Antoine Buttafoghi

ÉRIC DABANCOURT

“The mirror of life seems stringy to me. I choose to apprehend it through my drawing by seeking the essential in my compositions and in my analysis of nature with its occupants. It is the infinite spiritual quest where each of my features takes on character in authenticity towards endlessly transformed graphic vocabularies.”

Differences – India ink drawing with brush and pen on paper – 2021 © Eric Dabancourt

GILLES DURFORT

“In psychoanalysis, the mirror – at least the crossing of the mirror – sends us back to delirium. In literature, the mirror theme purifies romanticism. In sculpture, the mirror called the polished mirror of the object floods us with uncontrolled reflections creating an urban aesthetic referring to Bachelard’s words “mirrors are too civilized objects”. Forced aesthetics of the material, a trap for beauty … But this shimmering sculpture initiates our dreams, our unknown mental spaces. Let’s cross … Let’s cross …”

Wedding – Aluminum polish mirror finish – 2018 © Gilles Durfort

HARRY ERGOTT

“The Reflection, of a Reflection. One of my favorite subjects in my painting sessions are the nude life models reflected in a mirror. My brush stroke reacts like a seismograph at a high energy level in response to the model, which in turn interacts with her reflection in the mirror. My art is a research in self-control versus resisting the desire for impetuous escape, the balance between absolute control and raw emotion, or the tipping point between calm and chaos.”

Southern Belle – Acrylic Paint – 2011 © Harry Ergott

BERTRAND GRUYER

“It is not the mirrors that distort, but it is our vision that reflects the uniqueness of our gaze. Depending on our paradigms, each takes different paths to look at the world. Consequently, objectivity can only be an objective, a project, a quest, which begins with the awareness of one’s subjectivity. These photographs of lights and shadows invite the subjectivity of our gaze to express itself. Most see bodies or carnal impressions, but the debate remains as open as each eye that sees…”

Mirage – 01 – Photography – 2020 © Bertrand Gruyer

CHARLES HAMONNAIS

“We would be the reflection of a set of things, a set of opinions. The other has more often this function of being the light of the reflection than one thinks. In the series “Human Metamorphosis”, I focused my attention on the variations in characteristics of a person in a very short period of time. Thus, my photographic gaze plays the role of the mirror, for which the reflection is infinite taking on colors, moods and non-verbal messages.”

Human Metamorphosis – 01 – Photography – 2021 © Charles Hamonnais

DAVID PAUL KAY

“Everything I create is a reflection of the universe around me or the universe within me. Venus de Milo is a part of the “Icons” series, the piece was inspired by the experience at the Louvre museum, how the light reflected onto this iconic piece from all the different angles, how she talked to the space around her, how she interacted with the viewers. I wanted to find the right perspective to mirror my experience and emotional state that she put me in and I decided to create her image depicting the power that she reflects upon us from within. Empire State of Mind is a direct reflection of a New Yorker mindset. It mirrors the unique approach the citizens of the concrete jungle have towards time, space, the world and the universe. The so-called “New York minute” is depicted as is, intricate, intense, yet addictive and pleasing. Once a New Yorker, always a New Yorker is what this piece reflects.”

Venus of Milo – Work on paper – 2020 © David Paul Kay

ALAIN LE CHAPELIER

Jean Delumeau said that the mirror “has the capacity to reflect and to deform, to reproduce and to fragment”.
“Going Through the Door corresponds to this assertion by the reflection of the sky and buildings in the window pane. I see a distortion of reality that incorporates at the bottom of the image, the darkness of the cellar and the mysterious side of what is behind that door. The spider webs reinforce the side of this secret feeling, which is potentially accessible by opening the door. To push open the door is to renounce to the known reality in order to enter the other side of the mirror into the unknown and the dark. The top of the photograph corresponds to the conscious side of the personality and the bottom, to the unconscious side. Backlight is a work taken inside a large room that was used to welcome immigrants from overseas wishing to settle in the United States. The outside world is reflected on the ground but in a diffuse way, a bit like the shadows of Plato’s cave. The room, separated from the outside by the large glass roof, is like a synonym of freedom – given the historical context of the building. This place sucked me in from the outside, symbolically crossing a mirror.”

Go Through The Door – Photography – 2019 © Alain Le Chapelier

MIREILLE LOPEZ

“I chose to present My Continent which echoes the ecological mess in which we operate. Each of us is in some way indirectly responsible for it since we are all consumers. What emanates most from this work is its softness underlined by the elegance of the line corresponding to my inner ideal world. We often talk about the creation of the 7th continent made of plastics, and it is through this work that I propose an 8th continent, mine, filled with sweetness and harmony. We can thus draw a parallel with the environmental problems we experience today on our Earth mirroring our own consciousness.”

My Continent – Acrylic Painting – 2019 © Mireille Lopez

BRUNO PALISSON

“I had not seen that with humility and generosity, the Earth that I occupied unconsciously welcomed me and gave me everything. As I admire myself, she congratulates me benevolently on my intelligence and my beauty. Blinded and arrogant, she becomes the mirror of my insolence. However, if I stop, look, observe and contemplate, she reflects something else. From our landscapes and nature to present moments, I come closer to her wishing to be there with her. It makes me realize the universality of the present, at least for a moment. She suggests that I let myself go towards the absence of thinking; trying to become one with the present and its beauty. I walk from the earth to the moon, carried by the wings of life, untouched by the wounds of the past nor the preoccupations of the future.”

FLORENCE SARTORI

“Mirror, mirrors… Woman, singular and plural… Sometimes diabolical, sometimes divine, the mirror tells about our inner world and puts us in front of ourselves and our image. He also invites us to discover our hidden face; the one that would be “on the other side of the mirror”… It is the subject of the game of reflections as those two twin sculptures face each other. Here is a symbolic dialogue, without words, where, through the mystery of the metatheatre, each of them is the mirror of her double. The solar radiance of the One highlights the dark side of the Other in a game of complementarity as a metaphor for our human condition. A face to face that takes us on the path of the mystery of our identity, between Unity and Duality.”

NATHAN SOULEZ-LARIVIÈRE

“The photographs Uturuncu and Licancabur, volcanoes of the Bolivian desert, underline the laws of nature through the presence of fauna and a source of water. Faced with this osmosis that inspires me, worthy of a minimalist composition, I find myself facing a natural balance. Like a window to an almost lost world, these landscapes drive us into the infinitely large.”

MAXIME VIGNAUD

“How could I finally come back to you?
Through maybe this mirror together
We will both be there in our memories
As in this carefree childhood
To which we hope to cherish so much
And will make us forget our broken paths
By keeping this reflection of our cheerful souls.”

CHARLES WEBER

“In front of or behind the mirror? Faced with a photograph on the wall, I always wondered where the photographer was. Is he next to me, facing the image, or is he behind the image recording it? Where is his left, where is his right? Like the trees, does he have his head down? Is the subject beyond the wall or behind me? Is it a window or a mirror? In this game of face-to-face and double inversions, I find my childhood’s dizziness in the endless corridor of parallel mirrors.”