Matts Leiderstam's 'The Grid and the Gaze' at Andréhn-Schiptjenko, Paris

Swedish artist Matts Leiderstam revisits a project initiated over twenty years ago in his exhibition 'The Grid and the Gaze' at Andréhn-Schiptjenko in Paris, running until May 23, 2026. The show centers on a painting by Claude Lorrain, 'Landscape with Rebekah Taking Leave of Her Father' (1640–1641), held at the Nationalmuseum in Stockholm. X-ray analysis revealed a compositional change, notably the original position of the sun, which Leiderstam uses as a point of entry to question the apparent stability of images and reveal hidden processes, hesitations, and choices. For 2026, he produced new circular paintings that dialogue with older works, creating resonances between archive, memory, and contemporary production. The grid functions as a structuring element, inherited from Renaissance perspective tools, but Leiderstam transforms it into a critical framework that exposes systems of power, hierarchies of visibility, and erased narratives—particularly queer readings of art history. Works include the 'Archived' and 'Panel Paintings' series, as well as photographic diptychs, all exploring the tension between structure and deviation. The grid is both present and disrupted, stable and fissured, subject to reinterpretation, challenging the normative gaze that has long dominated art history.