Alexandre Lenoir's 'Sous le niveau de la mer' at Almine Rech

Alexandre Lenoir's third solo show at Almine Rech, 'Sous le niveau de la mer,' runs until May 29, 2021, at the gallery's Matignon space in Paris. The exhibition features seven large-scale paintings that explore memory and melancholy through layered acrylic and wash techniques. Lenoir, who grew up in Guadeloupe, uses personal photographs as source material, scraping and peeling layers of paint with tape to reveal hidden undercoats. The works depict a faceless young boy and submerged adolescent figures in algae-green waters, oscillating between idyllic summer memories and somber undertones. Two basement paintings show a white bust of a boy without a face amid lush foliage, while four others portray a floating adolescent body in calm water. The largest painting, devoid of human figures, opens onto a sunlit clearing. Concurrently, from May 19 to July 14, 2021, Lenoir's canvas 'La Source' will be displayed at the Caisse des Dépôts in Paris, with two fragments reproduced on the building's façade covering nearly 500 square meters.