Resonances

Our new exhibition resonates with the work of Sophie Coroller and Ode Bertrand. What unites these two artists may be, first and foremost, their way of being in the world, marked by determination, meticulousness, and precision. Each develops a distinctive artistic language and establishes their own rules—methodical frameworks within which they explore and experiment tirelessly. Their approach, remarkable for its rigor and precision, nevertheless generates a sense of mystery: their works exude an indefinable aura, a kind of floating ambiguity that captivates and absorbs the viewer’s gaze. This visual intensity and power are achieved through a minimalist and refined element: the line.

In her paintings, Ode Bertrand rhythmically weaves and layers lines, creating compositions that function like musical scores. Every line, every space, every interval contributes to the harmony of a rhythm that unfolds progressively, between tension and release. Her works are playgrounds for the eye, where the viewer’s soul can lose itself in the entanglement of lines while being guided by their ordered structure. Sophie Coroller, on the other hand, explores balance in her reliefs and wire sculptures, where taut lines seem ready to spring into space. Her work evokes the cautious momentum of a ballet pirouette—a precarious state of equilibrium. Her pieces are filled with vibrant lines that, under tension, defy gravity and offer a sense of latent motion.

It is challenging to fully grasp the works of these two artists at first glance: they seem to call out to us, demanding particular and prolonged attention. Both establish a unique temporality within space, where layers and multiple dimensions overlap and interact. Sophie Coroller, in her Ardoises series, stretches tiny springs and wraps linen thread around thin stainless steel tubes, creating delicate and dynamic structures. In her Mini-grilles series, she overlays open meshes of unwoven carbon or glass fibers with tissue paper. The care, precision, and repetition of gestures that require immense time and focus during creation undeniably influence the viewer’s perception. This temporal density is felt in every detail. Ode Bertrand similarly unsettles perception through the accumulation of lines, the methodical repetition of patterns, and the proximity of strokes that seem on the verge of merging. Her work engages the eye in a constant oscillation between order and confusion. Gilles Deleuze described this stratification using the term crystal time—a structure where past and present coexist and reflect each other, like the facets of a crystal. Contrary to a linear vision of time, the works of these two artists function as temporal blocks, simultaneously revealing their process of emergence and their immediate visual impact.

In Ode Bertrand’s work, the line transcends its apparent linearity: it traces a path, sometimes sinuous, sometimes labyrinthine. It becomes both a connection and a division, structuring rhythmic compositions that alternate between opacity and transparency, emptiness and fullness. Before her paintings, the viewer is invited to pause, to step back and take in the whole, then to approach again, as if to follow the path the artist proposes. The arrangement of lines and the precision of the contrasts between black and white do not simply create oppositions. On the contrary, they establish a subtle harmony of accords, a resonance where interstices—spaces both dense and suspended—emerge.

In Sophie Coroller’s work, the line is stretched, elongated, and shaped using carefully chosen materials. These materials—carbon, glass, stainless steel—are never selected at random. Each possesses specific qualities and limits that the artist confronts with her artistic vision. Often associated with monumental constructions, these materials, under her hand, acquire an unexpected fragility. Sophie Coroller reduces them to their most tenuous form: the fineness of a line, almost at the threshold of resistance. Within this paradox, she orchestrates delicate, precarious structures anchored in space at their most infinitesimal points of balance. From these equilibria arise works that strive to elevate, transcending the constraints of walls or pedestals. These arrangements, in search of newfound freedom, seem to take flight, inhabiting space with both lightness and tension.

The works of these two artists seem to chart paths, the moving line pointing toward a direction. Gaston Bachelard, in Air and Dreams, articulated a thought that resonates with their approach: “To those who gaze upon the graceful line, dynamic imagination suggests the wildest substitution: it is you, the dreamer, who become the evolving grace.” Ode Bertrand and Sophie Coroller, with their differing sensibilities and pursuits, both succeed in leading the viewer through tenuous spaces where the line becomes a path—almost imperceptible—guiding toward silence, introspection, and a form of elevation.

With the kind assistance of the Wagner gallery for the artist Sophie Coroller