Kris Van Assche has once  again proven the strength and depth of his artistic vision, this time in Paris where he has exhibited the ‘Picaflor’ exhibition in the Galerie des Galeries – the art, fashion and design space of the Galerie Lafayette – in association with the International Fashion and Photography Festival of Hyères and curated by gallerist (and A BLOG contributor) Barbara Polla.

Utilising this brilliantly stark white space, Kris has installed his geometric metal flowers standing in small groups around the room, allowing viewers to wander around and peer into their dark centres to discover various video moments following his inspirations and creations. From our very own cover of A#7 to images from Kris’ inspiration folios, the video screens are a glimpse into his world and a poetic metaphor – humans becoming hummingbirds, dipping inside the flower to receive nectar. One screen is linked with a video camera mounted alongside, allowing the viewer to see his or herself from a side-on perspective inside the flower – a strange and voyeuristic personal encounter.

Alongside Kris’s flowers, Berlin-based artist Matt Saunders has created a series of portraits rendered as ink drawings on film negative paper, based on photographs of Kris’s female models backstage at his Spring Summer 2009 show. The effect is moody and surrealist, like bizarre mugshots taken through stained glass. Lined along the far  right wall, the artworks add gravity and depth to the dazzlingly bright gallery (that feels almost like a studio space), and are an avantgarde expression of beauty – entirely stripping away the detail of any fashion context and allowing the viewer to connect only with this hazy image of a beautiful girl.

Another example of Matt’s work is the larger piece below, of a garment rack after one of Kris’s shows with each piece wrapped and giving a surgical, sanitised feeling – again an interesting observation from an artist looking into the fashion world with a different perspective.

At the opening night of the exhibition, guests were invited to preview the works in the company of the designer and artist and all involved, with the Dior team out in full force to celebrate (following their menswear show days before).

The exhibition is a brief encounter with Kris’s world and manages to reveal a lot – but through a very small lens. Many of the elements are pieces of a puzzle that all fit together in A#7, further elaborated on in Londerzeel, Kris’s own magazine of which the second edition was also launched on the night.

If you are in Paris before February 27th, we strongly suggest a visit to see Picaflor for yourself.