The Scale of Things

Boon Room is pleased to invite you to The Scale of Things - a solo exhibition by Hadrien Jacquelet. The exhibition focuses on the artist’s recent body of work, paintings created in 2022-2021 and a series of drawings both inspired and initiated by the artist’s extended stay in Mexico City, in 2017. Reflecting on the first part of the 21st Century, the subject matter in the presented paintings shifts from abstract figuration to more concrete and realistic forms. Within the realm of figuration, Jacquelet’s work presents his take on the long tradition of portraiture. A large-scale portrait of Walter Benjamin stares at the viewer. Why Benjamin? I meant to ask the artist at one of our first studio visits, yet did not utter a word then. The title of the series, the recurring subject of danger and intense emotions and Benjamin’s portrait itself, bring a strange memory of the times never lived by our generation, yet the times which infuse the present. How much is The First Part of the 21st Century different from the first part of the precedent century? Accompanied by the figure of Benjamin, who is known not only for his academic work, arguing in favor of the aura of a work of art and problematizing the age of mechanical reproduction but also for his language and rich writing style, describing the times he had lived through, we are once again confronted by existential questions of time, life and death. In Jacquelet’s practice, one element always morphs into another, bridging one work to another from the series. Here too, mostly combined with an intense orange background, the series are morphing into one another, from abstract forms to concrete details. Focusing mainly on human figures from his milieu, to mythological beings, the stars of popular culture and public identities, Jacquelet creates tension between the depicted and the hidden, the figure and its background of poignant colors, exploring themes such, as sexuality, violence, and gender. Various renditions of imaginary characters in Contemporary culture, television, popular culture, advertisement and public figures of historical importance, have always fascinated the artist and have led a path into his artistic reflection. Driven by an almost utopian attempt to represent the unrepresentable, Jacquelet is drawn to impossible personas of a complex identity, such as Michael Jackson. The artist comments on the impossible quest of portraiture as a genre. Who are we looking at, when it comes to identity with its multiplicities, such as Michael Jackson? Naturally, this has something to do with Benjamin and his passion for the never-ending quests. Is portraiture a never-ending process, just like an identity in flux? Fluidity, flux and motion are also present in the imagery of Jacquelet’s painting and drawing series (2018 - 2017) of a diaristic character, occupying a display table in the exhibition space, which reflects on the artist’s interests and years of research. Here neither figure nor face can be described as one, a monolithic image of a person. The person behind the paint constantly changes.