John Cornu's Trilogy Exhibition Concludes in Brussels

John Cornu's exhibition trilogy, initiated at L'Attrape-couleurs in Lyon during the biennial, continued at La Chambre Blanche in Quebec, and concluded at Galerie Sébastien Ricou in Brussels from November 20, 2009 to January 23, 2010. The artist explores contemporary romanticism through motifs of fall, ruin, and blindness within a minimalist and conceptual aesthetic. Works are reconfigured across venues: 'Sans titre (verticales)' features eroded stems along a gallery wall, remnants of 'Je tuerai la pianiste' from Quebec. 'Sonatine (mélodie mortelle)', which replaced all neon lights with used fluorescent tubes creating a visual and sonic score, was presented extensively in Lyon but limited to a single occurrence amplified by microphones in Brussels. Cornu adapts his pieces to each context, recalling in situ practices while forging his own path. For the Brussels introduction, he reframed a 9/11 image of a falling man from Libération, rotating it 90 degrees to create a modern gisant. At the entrance, a blind cabinetmaker with a degenerative disease crafted a painting chassis, resulting in an empty form for viewer projection. The exhibition manipulates reality, where what is seen never fully matches perception.