Gérard Garouste's Ellipse: A Labyrinth of Obscurity at Fondation Cartier

Gérard Garouste's Ellipse, an ambitious tent of painted canvases housing a labyrinth of obscure symbols, is on view at Fondation Cartier in Paris from November 20, 2001 to February 24, 2002, with a concurrent exhibition at Galerie Daniel Templon from January 24 to March 2, 2002. The work asserts Garouste's independence from contemporary pictorial art, embracing obscurity as its principle. The structure, over seven meters high, blends Russian onion-dome church and Tibetan temple forms, featuring hybrid creatures, incomprehensible inscriptions, and a band of text that defies logical interpretation. Garouste rejects the dominant taste for sociological documentation and staged photography, instead reviving a literary, allusive painting style that risks being seen as anachronistic. The work invites free association from viewers, as no hidden meaning is recoverable. Critics compare it to the absurd dreamlike quality of Granville and Flaubert's Tentation de saint Antoine, though Garouste's method is deliberate, not automatic. The piece may signal a broader shift in art, alongside renewed interest in Surrealism and Dalí.