Elsa Sahal's Ceramic Bodies and Autels at Galerie Claudine Papillon

Elsa Sahal's exhibition at Galerie Claudine Papillon in Paris, from November 10 to December 22, 2012, presents ceramic sculptures exploring the body, identity, and mortality. The show includes three upright figures with rose enamel drips and gold picador hats, described as acéphales (headless) by the artist, who avoids faces as too sacred. These Arlequins evoke Philip Guston's grotesque mysticism. In the second space, "Les Équilibres" features black female bodies fragmented and reassembled, reminiscent of Picasso's "Acrobate bleu" (1929) and Alina Szapocznikow's scattered forms. One piece, "Méditerranée," comprises a skull on an arm. The rear gallery houses "Autels": black-enameled tree branches on metal bases, adorned with small skulls, evoking Odilon Redon. A three-meter-high "monument jardinier"—a pink-glazed ceramic urinating fountain—was displayed at the Tuileries Garden during FIAC, humorously asserting women's ability to urinate standing. The exhibition also features a dahlia-urchin, detached feet transforming into plants, and black corals suggesting abyssal sadness.