Eric Reynier's Explorations exhibition at the Galerie de l'Europe
GALLERY OF EUROPE
From October 20 to November 21, 2026
The Galerie de l’Europe is exhibiting paintings by Éric Reynier, entitled Explorations, from October 20 to November 21, 2026. The figures in this exhibition all originate from modeling in modeling clay, an ephemeral model whose trace is preserved only on the canvas. Free admission, rue de Seine.
Two men pose shoulder to shoulder, bald, with pink skin, their sweaters puffed out like a substance kneaded between their fingers. White birds circle around them, perched on a shoulder or suspended in mid-flight. Friends First sets the tone, somewhere between tenderness and strangeness, and hints at the process that runs throughout the room.
Éric Reynier, born in 1961 and trained at the Beaux-Arts in Valence, initially made animated films, which were selected for international festivals and broadcast by Canal+. From this foray into the world of moving images, he undoubtedly retained a taste for creating his characters before painting them. The clay figure lasts only for the duration of the session; the painting preserves everything, down to the indentations left by the fingers, and this deliberate imperfection gives the bodies a presence somewhere between sculpture and a childhood memory.
His explorations don't stop at these figures. The gallery also includes trees painted with almost photographic meticulousness, beach scenes in crisp, flat planes, and portraits pushed to the point of hyperrealism. Changing his style from one canvas to the next is a gamble, much like Gerhard Richter moving from abstraction to photographic blur, and the consistency of his vision compensates for a lack of stylistic unity. A phrase by Pascal, "the derisory splendor of humanity," often comes up in his conversation and sums up quite well what circulates from one wall to the other.
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GALERIE DE L’EUROPE
October 20 to November 21, 2026
55 rue de Seine, 75006 - Metro Mabillon (Line 10)
Tuesday to Saturday, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 7 p.m., or by appointment
Free admission
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