When I was looking at the new works by Laure Mary (Couegnias) in her solo show, Spleen, opening at Dio Horia in Athens this week, I was struck by something she told us in a feature a few years ago. "Surrealism creates metamorphosis and forces you to revise the world. There is the attraction of a rendezvous without rendezvous, of an agreement superior to the desires in a universe about which we know so little. But do we always get what we want?" It seemed so apt to consider this sentiment she evoked, as looking at this work, there was this idea of absence and minimalism to consider, a loss of reality amongst familiarity. It's about desire and dreams, a sudden blurring of the lines of what is real. They are stunning in that they don't overwhelm; they sort of consume your imagination instead.
In describing Spleen, Laure Mary said that works were like a "meeting point in a secret realm where the soul seeks a supreme truth, leaves no leisure for the conclusion of those who belong. Life is drunk with the water of a memoryless river. This moment is perfect, don’t wake up." This is where Laure Mary seems to be painting in. A daydream, a conversation about meaning and reality, the possibility of just letting yourself be immersed in a possibility of everything and nothing. Her paintings seem like they want us to submerge our minds into the ether of otherworldly potential while not being too upset if we can't get there. It's about enjoying the ride of the meandering mind, and I'm here for it. —Evan Pricco
