Isabelle Cornaro (b. 1974, lives and works in Paris) has created a specific architecture for Le Païpe, by the Swarovski Foundation, a space which lies between stage theatre and immersive diorama. The installation unfolds as a series of wall paintings; reproductions of stills from the 16mm film Floues et colorées [Hazy and Colorful] (2010), which stages landscapes, geometric abstractions and monochromes.

The artist has chosen to show monochromes (Reproductions #1, Reproductions #4) and landscapes (Reproductions #7) together at the Palais de Tokyo. The paintings are made using spray paint which gives them a textured finish. Their proportions are identical to those of a cinema projection, which reinforces their relation to perception.

Within Le Païpe, Isabelle Cornaro has constructed an ambulatory, a space for wandering where one observes projected paintings and vibratory freeze frames. It is a unique physical and mental experience, an unending exchange between two systems of production and reception of images – the mimetic and the abstract – which are often opposed. This wandering space reconfigures the relationship between body and gaze. The distribution of the artist’s paintings, closely linked to the Palais de Tokyo’s architecture, plays with perspective, dimensions and viewpoints making the spectator’s position an essential condition of the works’ polysemy and provoking a singular temporal and spatial experience.

April 2015, marks the Swarovski Foundation support of the “Païpe” at the heart of Palais de Tokyo. The Swarovski Foundation was incorporated in 2013 and its mission is to build on the Swarovski family’s heritage of philanthropy by supporting charitable initiatives and organizations working in three main pillars: fostering culture and creativity, promoting wellbeing and human rights, conserving natural resources.

Julien Fronsacq