Jeanne Vicerial
Nymphose
Jeanne Vicerial, the young and sensationally talented French textile artist, has a new show at TEMPLON Paris where she unveils the result of two years spent exploring the notion of metamorphosis.
For the Pupation exhibition, Vicerial fills the gallery’s original space in Rue Beaubourg in Paris with her “presences”, the large sculptures in crocheted or smoothed black thread that are so characteristic of her practice.
The show is an ode to transformation in all its facets. Vicerial depicts it in various forms: as an awakening of the material, illustrated by the work in tribute to Pierre Soulages where the beyond-black thread stretched taut on the canvas suddenly flows in waves to the floor; as artistic creation via a process of exploration and experimentation, the process that precedes the nascent work, and as the gestation that is exclusive to viviparous beings.
Silent presences watch the visitor in a room transformed into what could be a private bedroom or holy chapel, draped in black, the lighting subdued. Engrossed in a romantic embrace, in the middle of giving birth or living out their twilight years, they seem to be in the grip of a transition. Like a moment frozen in time, Vicerial attempts to capture the transformation paving the way to the (re)birth of these unclassifiable beings, these supernatural nymphs, half-plant, half-animal.
“Our environment abounds in these metamorphoses,” she explains. “My thread turns into a cocoon right in front of my eyes, and a sculpture emerges from it. Everything undergoes transformation.” Alongside them is a wall featuring small “sex-votos” made from a single, ink-coloured thread. For the first time, the artist has inlaid them with nuggets of bronze and fine gold. The objects-as-offerings beg the question, what exactly do they evoke? Female genitals? Insects? Extraterrestrial bodies? These enigmatic creatures highlight a great taboo of society: the fear of the passing time, of change, of decline, vulnerability and death.
Jeanne Vicerial’s work has featured in several group exhibitions, including at the Maximiliansforum, Munich (2022), Fondation Martell, Cognac (2022), Ballroom Project, Antwerp (May 2022), Maison Guerlain, Paris (2022), Musée International des Arts Modestes in Sète (2023), Lafayette Anticipations – Fondation Galeries Lafayette, Paris (2023), FRAC Auvergne (2023), Musée Bargoin, Clermont-Ferrand (2023) and the Nîmes Triennale (2024).
In 2022, she created the sets for Atys, a new version of the tragic opera composed by Jean-Baptiste Lully and inspired by Ovid’s Metamorphosis, directed by Angelin Preljocaj and shown for the first time in France at the Versailles Royal Opera.
In 2023, Jeanne Vicerial made the costumes for Figures by Dalila Belaza at the Théâtre de la Cité Internationale.
Jeanne Vicerial’s first monograph was published in 2023 with a special contribution from philosopher Emanuele Coccia and interview with historian and researcher Ida Soulard.
From 19 June to 7 September 2025 as part of the Le Voyage à Nantes event, Jeanne Vicerial’s work will be presented interacting with a text by French philosopher and writer Claire Marin at Lieu Unique in Nantes.
Puppa n°9, Amnios
The artist
Born in 1991, Jeanne Vicerial lives and works in Jura, France. After studying costume design and completing a Master's degree in Fashion Design at the École des Arts Décoratifs in Paris in 2015, she became the first person in France to obtain a SACRe (Sciences, Arts, Création, Recherche), doctorate in 2019. She furthered her research by questioning the dichotomy between ready-to-wear and bespoke clothing, while also embarking on an artistic journey that led her to create the Clinique vestimentaire research and design studio. In addition to her personal creations, she has initiated numerous collaborations with artists from a variety of backgrounds. Her works were notably exhibited at the Palais de Tokyo in Paris (2018), in Rome (Villa Medici and Palazzo Farnese, 2020), at the Collection Lambert in Avignon (2021), at the Magasins Généraux in Pantin (2021), at the Basilique Saint-Denis (2022) and have recently been added to the collections of the Cnap (Centre national des arts plastiques) and the FRAC Auvergne. In 2024, she was invited to exhibit in dialogue with the paintings of Pierre Soulages at the Musée Soulages in Rodez. Jeanne Vicerial has participated in several group exhibitions, at the Maximiliansforum, Munich (2022), the Fondation Martell, Cognac (2022), the Ballroom Project, Antwerp (2022), the Maison Guerlain, Paris (2022), the Musée International des Arts Modestes in Sète (2023), the fondation Lafayette Anticipations (2023), the FRAC Auvergne (2023), the Musée Bargoin, Clermont-Ferrand (2023) and the Triennale de Nîmes (2024).
