Fabien Adele, Invitation, 2020, oil on canvas, 70 x 55 cm
French artist Fabien Adèle is the subject of a remarkable exhibition, presented by art advisor Samuele Visentin at Number Three Spitalfields, an exceptional Georgian townhouse, right at the heart of buzzing East London.
The house was built in 1750 by Peter Lekeux, a French Huguenot silk merchant on the ruins of houses destroyed during the great fire of London. It remained a private home until the area began to decline in the 1800s. A banana warehouse was later built in the gardens, and shortly after, the house fell into ruins again. It was rescued by two artists in the 1980s. Banana trees continue to grow in the garden as a tribute to its past. The perfect location to stage exhibitions.
“I first encountered images of the Georgian townhouse at 3 Fournier Street on Instagram. I met Barra and James for a drink and proposed an exhibition. Little did I know that Barra had already intended to ask me to participate in an art-related project he was launching. We mutually and happily agreed on our reciprocal proposals. I’m working on an exhibition programme which will run using the house as an exhibition space.” Samuele Visentin said.
Imbued with a contemporary take on surrealism and reminiscent of Italian artist Giorgio De Chirico, Adèle’s paintings transport viewers in an imaginary vibrant world arranged around static figures, organic elements, and fictional landscapes.
Visentin discovered the artist on Instagram around spring 2019. A consequent Paris-studio visit quickly led to the exhibition presented in London today. “What I found striking about the works is his artistic consistency in portraying his figures and staging these surreal scenes. I also felt very drawn to the psychological side of his works and how they managed to tell a story that made me stop and stare and ask myself questions. And then gradually, I noticed his conscious use of colour to set the tone in each piece and the curation of details. I could see he knew what he was doing because the works were coherent.”
Despite his young age, Adèle’s work brilliantly explore ideas of memory and physicality, constantly oscillating between dream-like settings and experiences of reality. “In representations of objects, shapes that are very recognizable to many people and by arranging them in an organized way, I try to make the reading of the image easier. The image is often very figurative, but I like it when it gives several possibilities of interpretation and a certain interest in those common things that we no longer see, to give them a new meaning. Some people around me give me very explicit readings of what they see, others a vision completely different from mine during my creative process. This has been my fuel for the whole body of work and most certainly for the next ones.” Fabien Adèle said.
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