Julian Farade
Group show "Anima, Frac Auvergne's collection" curated by Laure Forlay (co-director Frac Auvergne)
Centre Culturel de Vichy, France

First, a huge bat watches from afar as visitors enter the exhibition. Next, some strange crows make their entrance, singing the blues, while next to them, a dog and a heron try to free themselves from a huge quantity of paint. A little further on, a wide-open birdcage lets its occupants escape to freedom. One by one, the animals in this exhibition come to life, animated by the energy of a pencil stroke or the liveliness of color. Each of them becomes a character in fantastic stories, and the object of the artists' attention as they explore the richness of the animal world. The light gleaming off a bear's coat transforms Gilles Aillaud's palette into a magnificent bluish-black, the fragility of a bird's flight is reflected in Stephen Maas's light watercolours, and the incredible whiteness of a swan's feathers illuminates Viryia Chotpanyavisut's photographs. Throughout the exhibition, the presence of the animal is asserted, as much through the many fantasies it arouses as through its unique way of being in the world, naturally different from our own.

With the participation of:
Achaintre, Aroldo, Aillaud, Haddad, Chotpanyavisut, Farade, Laget, Lotus, Maas, Roche, Tremblay.

Julian Farade → Centre Culturel de Vichy