Paloma Proudfoot • The Infinite Woman • Fondation Carmignac • 27.04.–03.11.2024

The Fondation Carmignac is presenting The lnfinite Woman at Villa Carmignac, on the island of Porquerolles off the coast of Hyères (Var), curated by Alona Pardo.

THE INFINITE WOMAN
Villa Carmignac, Porquerolles Island
27.04.–03.11.2024

Paloma Proudfoot new commission “Gardening”, specifically created for this exhibition, will be on display until November 3, 2024

Exploring the role mannequins play in perpetuating myths of idealised beauty, Paloma Proudfoot’s frieze-like sculptural ceramic relief takes us behind the scenes of a fashion runway show, to expose the labour and body politics that underpin the performance of glamour. Bristling with tension, the scene depicts a series of intertwined figures tucking in hems, making last-minute adjustments, and coiffing hair. A closer look reveals branch-like forms emerging from a spine and vacuous, gormless faces, while menacing secateurs and clothing pinched with bulldog clips imbue the scene with a frisson of unease. With a background in textiles and pattern-cutting, Proudfoot’s seductive glazed-ceramic construction, which also incorporates textiles, draws on punk aesthetics and fetish fashion. By appropriating and subverting the symbol of the mannequin, which Proudfoot invariably depicts as an ‘automaton’, she transforms them into critical signifiers for complex female subjectivities.

The exhibition is featuring works by Sandro Botticelli, Louise Bourgeois, Judy Chicago, Michael Armitage, John Currin, Marlene Dumas, Tracy Emin, Loie Hollowell, Lisa Yuskavage, Lee Bul, Roy Lichtenstein, Rosemarie Trockel, Laure Prouvost, Mary Beth Edelson, France-Lise, and Paloma Proudfoot, among others.

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