Ketabi Bourdet Reflects on Identity and Coming of Age in 'Premiers Vertiges'

“Do you remember your first thrills? The ones of your body, of your mind, of your heart?” The latest exhibition at Ketabi Bourdet invites the viewer to ruminate on these questions through a presentation of work by artists Marcella Barceló, Maisie Cousins, Henry Darger, Inès Longevial and more.

Curated by Elise Roche, Premiers Vertiges (First Thrills) is a collective coming of age story. While Barceló ruminates on passion and innocence in her painting, First Love (2021), Amélie Bigard showcases a figure that has been hardened and perhaps troubled with time, where a rose and the stability of a chair lie haplessly on the floor.

At the core of these transitions are opportunities to question reality and reshape one’s inner world. Chiefly known for her introspective paintings, Longevial taps into the mythology of the phoenix through a large patchwork tapestry made with cut prints and quilted by her grandmother. “Like a phoenix that ignites to be reborn from its ashes, perhaps we are reborn several times from our first adventures. The patchwork of a thousand faces is like an envelope of memory, of all this inferno of the first and last thrill,” said Roche.

Premiers Vertiges (First Thrills) will be on view at Ketabi Bourdet in Paris until April 7.

For more on art, Axel Morin explores the “Urban Poetry” of iPhone photography in GSM 2015-2022.

Ketabi Bourdet
22 Pass. Dauphine
75006 Paris, France

Exhibiting Artists:

Marcella Barceló
Amélie Bigard
Maisie Cousins
Henry Darger
Olivier Gagnère
Elizabeth Garouste
Inès Longevial
Valentin Ranger
Tal Regev
Charles de Vilmorin
Robert Wilson