“What is painting if not above all a song of silence, a melody drawn from the heart towards the material of the canvas, like a prayer addressed to whoever is willing to hear it.”
– Simon Buret
Nil Gallery presents "Les Prières," a solo exhibition by French artist and multidisciplinary talent Simon Buret, from November 14 to Décember 14, 2024. This exhibition offers an intimate glimpse into Buret's exploration of human complexity and vulnerability, articulated through mixed-media compositions that blend oil, acrylic, grease pencil, and unexpected materials like coffee grounds.
In "Les Prières" (Prayers), Buret approaches each work as a contemplative offering—a moment of silence within chaos. His process, which embraces accidents and the unexpected, highlights a delicate interplay between harmony and disarray. Each painting evokes an act of surrender as much as it demonstrates artistic control, inviting viewers to reflect on life’s fragility and humanity’s tenuous connection to nature.
Marked by a poetic sensibility, Buret’s work delves into themes of existence, identity, and interconnectedness. Incorporating human and animalistic forms, his compositions raise questions about humanity’s role within the environment. For Buret, painting is “calling on the wild and the sacred to vibrate in the sunlight,” and each piece serves as an invitation to linger and introspect. He describes his works as “small prayers,” or “offerings to the eye that lingers upon them,” casting each canvas as a moment of meditation and contemplation.
In a world increasingly polarized by the search for certainty, Buret’s art celebrates doubt and vulnerability as vital forces, creating a quiet resilience against the pressures of modern life. His works resonate as acts of poetic resistance, encouraging audiences to embrace introspection and establish a personal connection to the art and the silence it conveys.
Nil Gallery invites audiences to experience "Les Prières" as an intimate encounter with Buret’s reflections on vulnerability and existence. His work, poised between mastery and surrender, transcends the visual, reaching deeply into the meditative. Through this exhibition, "Les Prières" offers a poignant reminder of art’s power to reveal the sacred within the everyday, encouraging viewers to reconnect with their own moments of silent contemplation.
