Le Festin

A monumental and monolithic sculpture takes over the patio of the art center, mimicking a restaurant built according to traditional Breton slate architecture. Both sublime and marvelous, the building-sculpture recalls the world of fairy tales while incorporating that element of humor dear to the artist. On the first floor, metal sculptures are displayed like restaurant dishes, revealing dishes from a fantasized gastronomy. Divergent from a realistic sculptural heritage, Caroline Mesquita engulfs herself in a fantastic and dreamlike figurative representation. The restaurant's sharp slate-black gives way to a silky coppery gold; the scales are distorted: the building becomes miniaturized and the food on the restaurant's menu becomes gigantic. A monumental and monolithic sculpture invests the patio of the art center, mimicking a restaurant built according to the architecture of the restaurant becoming gigantic. A monumental and monolithic sculpture invests the patio of the art center, with fairy tales while incorporating that element of humor dear to the artist. On the first floor, metal sculptures with that element of humor dear to the artist.

Seeking to avoid any hint of intellectual pomposity, Caroline Mesquita brings the notion of pleasure in the creative act back into the field of art. The exhibition therefore becomes a meditation and an open narrative, leaving plenty of room for drifting and dreaming. The feast evokes for everybody a time of conviviality but also a certain idea of the lavish and of excess. It is a time for pagan or religious gatherings, with friends of family, time for a feast of taste found in every culture. This simple joy – gathering together – disappeared in 2020 because of the health emergency. Caroline Mesquita here tries to bring back this fundamental pleasure in a conceptual and formal way. The exhibition is primarily developed as a celebration of togetherness and of sharing.

For a few years now, Caroline Mesquita has been studying the human body in all its forms, from the question of identity to its constancy over time. For Le festin [The Feast], she observes ‘what makes the machine run’, food as fuel. It is also about experiencing the idea of slowing down and ‘slow life’. Current trends of ultra-communication and ultra-mobility are destined to be overturned. The question underlying the exhibition could be “What is essential to our existence?” The artist’s response, avoiding any clichés, lies in simplicity and authenticity: art, time for oneself, living well and therefore eating well.