A TRANQUIL APPEARANCE
Retrospective of Thierry Genay at the Institut Catholique de Toulouse
With Une tranquille apparence (A Quiet Appearance), Thierry Genay turns his gaze to “things” through the still life. The French term for the genre, nature morte (literally “dead nature”), in use since the eighteenth century, suggests an absence of life. Yet the genre is anything but lifeless.
The artist works in the lineage of classical Dutch painting, from Jan Jansz van de Velde III to Rachel Ruysch, and carries that heritage into photography. His compositions are rigorous in the extreme: every fruit, every glass, every pot occupies an exact place, charged with meaning. The patinated backgrounds, with their subtle vibrations of colour, create an intimate atmosphere. The objects seem to float above their surface, held in an ephemeral balance and extended by shadows that lend them an added soul.
Deliberately pared back, these images stand against the visual excess that surrounds us and invite a return to the essential. Between tension and quiet imbalance, they open a space for silent contemplation, where each thing is looked at for its own sake.
A retrospective presented at the Institut Catholique de Toulouse by OAK Oneofakind Gallery.
From 6 November to 12 December 2026, in the ICT museum space, 31 rue de la Fonderie, Toulouse.
Wednesday to Saturday, 3 pm to 6 pm.
This monographic exhibition is also an opportunity for OAK Gallery, Place Montoulieu, to present two series of previously unseen prints by Thierry Genay, on view until 19 December 2026.
FROM THE COLLECTION
