Arnaud Labelle-Rojoux's 'L'Oignon fait la sauce' at Galerie Loevenbruck

From December 9, 2011 to January 14, 2012, Galerie Loevenbruck in Paris presented Arnaud Labelle-Rojoux's exhibition 'L'Oignon fait la sauce'. The show, described by the artist as a 'spectacle de Noël', features sculptures of bras d'honneur and disheveled idols that confront viewers directly. Works are visible from the street through the gallery's large window. Composite, amputated, and manipulated beings form a carnivalesque parade, including 'Imperator' with a wooden phallus for a head, 'Toi-même!' a hybrid clown-sphinx holding a mirror, and 'Gourou! Gourou!' in a suit and tie with a stake on his skull, attacked by garden gnomes. Paintings, drawings, collages, and blasons mix trivial and erudite references (Phil Spector, Jerry Lewis, Mondrian) with schoolboy aphorisms and emphatic stagings. The central piece, 'L'Oignon', assembles faces of Homer, Dante, a kitsch pharaoh, and Jean Gabin. Labelle-Rojoux creates a jubilant universe without hierarchies, reminiscent of his 2009 work with a donkey contemplating masterpieces at La Force de l'Art. The review is by Sandra Adam-Couralet.