Gérard Alary's Paintings at Galerie Valérie Bach

Gérard Alary's exhibition at Galerie Valérie Bach in Brussels from January 24 to March 30, 2013, presents a survey of his work, alternating monumental and intimate formats. Alary describes his painting as a visual art blending perception and thought, not narrative. His evocation of the human head, which he prefers over portrait or self-portrait, serves as a starting point for a pictorial exploration between fleeting figuration and abstraction. Using layers of oil and acrylic, his works evoke Sigmar Polke but with a darker, telluric quality. White zones illuminate ghostly silhouettes that oscillate between portraits and vanities, while occult powers dissolve into a red-hot magma of paint. The exhibition, curated by Bernard Marcelis, traces a personal trajectory resistant to fashion.