First presented in the artist’s solo exhibition at the Abbaye of Beaulieu-en-Rouergue (South of France) in 2023, Creten installed the "Éloge de l’ombre" bas-reliefs in the Abbey at the same elevation along the cellar walls, creating a ribbon of gold or a lustrous frieze of shimmering patterns that situates them in the realm of architectural adornment. In the context of a religious setting, gold evokes illuminated manuscripts, the halos of saints in Eastern Orthodox icons, or chalices used in the Eucharist, but there it was a stark addition given the vows of piety, poverty, and adornment the monks inhabiting this Cistercian monastery would have followed.
These works also functioned to bring light into the dark cellar through their reflective surfaces. Creten purposely left this space unlit to further dramatize subtle lighting on the variegated surfaces. This strategy refers to the writings of Jun’ichirō Tanizaki (Japanese writer, 1886-1965), whose 1933 essay, “In Praise of Shadows” (Éloge de l’ombre in French) argues that the power of beauty resides in shadow and subtlety, rather than total illumination.
This work can be hung vertically.
- 2023 : "Le Cœur qui déborde. Carte blanche à Johan Creten", Abbaye De Beaulieu-en-Rouergue, Ginals, France
- Colin Lemoine, Leigh Arnold, exh. catalog "Strangers Welcome", Perrotin New York and "Le Coeur qui déborde" (The Overflowing Heart), Abbaye de Beaulieu-en-Rouergue, Perrotin, 2024