Must-See: Fabienne Verdier’s Monumental Brushstrokes

This review is part of a series of Must-See shows, in which a writer delivers a snapshot of a current exhibition  

In the introduction to his unfinished project, Mnemosyne Atlas, Aby Warburg described his mission to map ‘life...in motion’ – an approach Fabienne Verdier echoes in ‘Retables’, her latest show at Waddington Custot, where her triptychs trace the natural world in constant transformation.

As the title suggests, Verdier evokes the retable, an ornamental panel traditionally positioned behind church altars to frame the sacred. Each painting in her newest series is a triptych, referencing the solemnity and structure of religious altarpieces. Her subjects, however, are earthly rather than divine. In Au chemin des éclairs (On the Path of Lightning, all works 2024), a broad sweep of ink blends into rivulets, echoing river tributaries or veins of marble. Elsewhere, La cascade (The Waterfall) shows white paint cascading down the centre panel, emulating the fluidity of falling water.

Trained in traditional Chinese calligraphy, Verdier reinterprets this discipline through the lens of Western abstraction. Her monumental canvases pulsate with thick multi-coloured strokes that glide across the surface in arcs and spirals. Aux émois des rencontres (To the Excitement of Encounters) depicts two short, blunt marks – one white and one black – against a bold red backdrop, suggesting a powerful yet restrained energy. Each gesture resonates with the energy of the act of painting itself. In her studio, Verdier uses large, custom-made horsehair brushes suspended from the ceiling which she manipulates with the aid of bicycle handles, allowing her to work directly above her canvases, laid flat on the floor. This intense, physical process produces compositions that feel both immediate and monumental, inviting viewers to trace the movement of her body in the pigment.

The paintings’ medium reveals a quieter layer to the works – suspended between control and surrender, where chance gestures bring unexpected textures into play. The ink holds light across each ridge, adding richness and diversity to her monochromatic palette. Three thick, mountain-like black forms are set against a rich Persian blue in Les aiguilles, de nuit et de silence (The Needles, at Night, and in Silence), creating a sense of calm grandeur. Perceived as a study in rhythm and restraint, ‘Retables’ envelops visitors in Verdier’s world of motion, its reverberations felt long after the last brushstroke.

Fabienne Verdier’s ‘Retables’ is on view at Waddington Custot, London, until 9 November

_{Main image: Fabienne Verdier, Aux émois des rencontres (To the Excitement of Encounters), 2024, acrylic and mixed media on canvas, 1.8 x 2.3 cm. Courtesy: the artist and Waddington Custot}