Profane X Christian Berst
curator : Profane
The meeting with Christian Berst is rooted in a spirit of shared curiosity and boldness. As the gallery celebrates its 20th anniversary, it opens its doors to a ten-year editorial adventure, spanning twenty issues of Profane, with le bridge becoming, for one month, an unprecedented space of visibility for works often confined to the pages of the magazine. Three groups of artists – Aurél, Seanie Baron, and the people of Crozant – offer us a journey through sculpture, woodworking, and textile art, linking each piece by a common quest: to build bridges between materials, arts, and time. A beautiful celebration of creative commitment and passion.
The encounter with Christian Berst stems from a shared curiosity, from a constantly renewed desire to step outside conventional frameworks and to explore, freely and without constraint, more uncharted practices. His invitation to us is precious in more than one respect: it first celebrates a ten-year editorial adventure and twenty issues, just as his gallery marks its twentieth anniversary.
A happy coincidence. By giving us full use of the Bridge, he also expresses his trust—in our vision, in our commitment.
For this unique occasion, which allows us to occupy for a month a space where works once nestled within the pages of the magazine can now be made visible, we have chosen to present three groups. Distinct in the techniques employed and the profiles involved, yet complementary, they accompany one another and join hands.
The idea of connection underlies this proposal. It echoes the mission of the Bridge, which is to create bridges with other visions, other arts.
Three types of works come together here: the sculptures of Aurél (France), created exclusively with Lego. This brick never exists alone; it needs other studded modules to give rise to a form, a landscape that implicitly reconnects us with childhood, with a sense of innocence as well. The intricately crafted canes of Seanie Baron (Ireland) are drawn from the trees, roots, and branches he gathers during ritual walks. They are like a passing of the baton between nature and humanity, a vertical way of anchoring oneself to the earth, of returning to an original, primal space. La Broderie Infinie required the patience of the inhabitants of Crozant (France)—their nimble and devoted hands—to create the longest tapestry since that of Bayeux, over 75 meters long, with panels retracing the history of a quiet village.
Each time, a devoted, passionate hand has shaped worlds of homage. We are grateful and proud to see them come alive during the course of this invitation, which moves us deeply.
Profane team
