FABIENNE VERDIER

In 2022, Fabienne Verdier presented a major exhibition at the Musée Unterlinden in Colmar, based entirely on the luminous halo surrounding the body of Christ on a wing of the Isenheim Altarpiece, Mathias Grünewald’s masterpiece and the museum’s crowning treasure.

Was it the artist’s long association with this altarpiece that led her to adopt this form? A central panel flanked by two smaller, movable panels. In any case, the effect is striking, as it reinforces the presence and intensity of the signs that the artist traces on these panels. The unusual shape of the frame for these paintings invites us to enter the image physically. The painting embraces us. Skilfully playing with contrasting colours, Verdier distils from these panels a kind of personal anthology of her favourite artistic gestures. Against a lively, vibrant backdrop, her vigorous brushstrokes re-enact a drama every time; even if it’s a happy one, it’s still a drama. A simple gesture, intensely meditated, releases an energy that materialises before our eyes and, through the silent power of paint, becomes almost tactile.

Fabienne Verdier was born in Paris in 1962. She lives and works in the Vexin, near Paris. In 2019, the Musée Granet in Aix-en-Provence devoted a retrospective exhibition to her, retracing her career since her return from China.

Her work features in numerous collections, including the MNAM Centre Pompidou (Paris), the Musée Granet (Aix-en-Provence), the Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen (Munich), the Nasjonalmuseet (Oslo), the Kunsthaus (Zurich) and the Fondation Hubert Looser (Zurich). Several major exhibitions devoted to her have been held recently: ‘La mouvance de la matière’ at Château Lynch-Bages, ‘Le chant des étoiles’ at the Musée Unterlinden in Colmar and ‘Im Auge des Kosmos’ at the Saarland Museum in Germany.