Théo Viardin: Solitudes
January 19, 2023 - February 09, 2023
NBB GALLERY is pleased to present SOLITUDES – a solo show by French artist Théo Viardin.
Within the artist's artistic practice, Viardin questions the human relationship to the living, otherness and our environment. There is no denying that we live in a world which is faced with the greatest decline of life the earth has ever seen, not only destroying the ecosystem, ravaging the flora and fauna on the planet, but in the near future, it will even be uninhabitable for our own species. These are the concerns of our present youth with which we are confronted. For Viardin this questioning of the human condition and our impact on the earth is one of the pillars of his convictions and is therefore organically infused into his artistic creation. The artist believes that it’s our responsibility to bring back the dream of a hopeful future instead of accepting the dystopian pessimism that has been instilled in us over the past decades through our social imagery.
Viardin encompasses this dream of a performative utopia and much more through his pictorial language. He believes that time loops, i.e. timeless art, taking inspiration from representations especially from antiquity, classical and neoclassical period. Through his aesthetic technique he does not seek anatomical accuracy, but his focus lies on connecting with the depicted figures, searching for the human essence no matter their shape. Solitudes embarks us on an allegorical journey through its androgynous humanoid figures and rather toned down and monochromatic color palette choice - evoking emotions in the viewer such as melancholy, serenity, protection, rage and tenderness.