Christophe Berhault's Insect Watercolors at Cinqsens in Utrecht

Christophe Berhault (born 1958, lives in Paris) presented two hundred watercolor drawings of insects at Cinqsens, a new space in Utrecht directed by Adrien Himmelreich and Kees Flore, from June 27 to September 20, 2003. Since 1996, during vacations in the countryside or in Naples, Berhault has painted insects on Arches Ingres paper in quarter-raisin format. He collects dead insects or occasionally captures and kills them, then reproduces their contours, filling them with watercolor washes that involve chance. The results evoke Chinese painting but provoke a mix of terror and delicacy. The large-scale insects appear terrifying, like armored creatures from Paul Verhoeven's film Starship Troopers. Yet the drawings also become memento mori, with diaphanous colors suggesting the passage of time. The works are mounted on a roll of pink paper in a grid, reminiscent of an entomologist's box. Unlike Jan Fabre's glorification of collective qualities, Berhault emphasizes individuality. The exhibition was reviewed by Richard Leydier.