Mathilde Denize’s latest exhibition at Perrotin in New York delves into the concept of Gesamtkunstwerk, where disparate materials, textures, and patterns come together to form a harmonious continuity.
Mathilde Denize‘s latest exhibition at Perrotin in New York delves into the concept of Gesamtkunstwerk, or a total work of art, where disparate materials, textures, and patterns come together to form a harmonious continuity.
Gesamtkunstwerk, a German term coined by Richard Wagner in the late 19th century, refers to a comprehensive work of art that combines multiple artistic disciplines.
This concept is often associated with opera and music theater.
A Gesamtkunstwerk is designed to engage all senses, incorporating elements such as music, singing, drama, dance, stage design, and costumes.
The idea was to create an immersive experience where the audience becomes fully engaged in the performance.
Wagner's most famous work, Der Ring des Nibelungen, exemplifies this concept.
The artist moves seamlessly between multiple mediums, from painting to sculpture and installation, creating a fluid orchestration of elements that fluctuate through space. Her works invite visitors to engage on a multisensory level, transforming the space into an interactive environment that trains perception, activates sensations, and fosters imagination.
Denize‘s use of repurposed fragments of canvases creates suspended painterly costumes that evoke the presence of the body while fostering an interplay between fragmentation and fluid continuity. The colors and atmospheres in her works become choreographies of elements animated by a distinct, melodic energy.
The exhibition title ‘Sound of Figures‘ conjures this musical dimension, evoking the feeling that the energy of a work of art can provoke in each of us. Denize‘s art deeply embraces concepts linking her practice to the legacy of Modernism and abstraction, born from a desire to envision an entirely new world.
Denize emphasizes how her work proceeds through intuition, with shapes and colors emerging spontaneously in the process. She recycles materials from film sets, allowing her to play even more with her own boundaries and push away initial decisions.
The elements in the space share a sensation of fluidity and hybridity, as if they emerged from random yet divinatory cross-disciplinary assemblages—fertile grounds for new meanings. The fluidity in Denize‘s painting style produces a flowing materiality, suggesting unstrained malleability and endless transformative possibilities.
Denize‘s artistic process becomes a dive into the ‘waters‘ of the universal subconscious to tap into something deeper within. Her titles reference visual forms at play here and similarly graphic sonic phenomena or messages from ephemeral spirits who speak from behind a painted veil.
The artist’s archaeological repurposing of fragments and leftovers recirculates within her studio and process, suggesting a more sustainable approach to artistic creation. This method forges compelling links to how our minds process memories and construct meaning—how the psyche blends existing materials and knowledge with new stimuli from the outside world.
Ultimately, Denize aims to create what she calls a ‘vibrant whole‘—a sensorial, sonic aesthetic space that invites awareness of the internal flux of transformation to which all things are subjected. Her exhibition at Perrotin in New York is on view through February 19.
