SAINT-ÉTIENNE.- A new solo exhibition by Romanian artist Charlotte Moth, her first in a French museum, opened last week at the Musée d’art moderne et contemporain (MAMC+). Titled, the exhibition offers a unique look at the museum itself, focusing on its recent renovation and extensive collection through Moth's lens as a visiting researcher.

Since 2021, Moth has been exploring the MAMC+, examining the physical changes to the building and delving into the museum's reserves. Her work for this exhibition brings together pieces from the collection in unexpected pairings, spanning different geographical and cultural origins, including design, modern and contemporary art, and various artifacts. A new series of analog photographs showcases these juxtapositions, presenting works like a 16th-century monk sculpture alongside a piece by Sol LeWitt, or a Ugo La Pietra lamp next to a wooden doll from Ghana. These photographic pairings, rendered in subtle grey tones, aim to challenge traditional art historical narratives and encourage new interpretations.

The exhibition unfolds across several spaces. The initial section is described as a phenomenological experience designed to prepare the visitor through direct encounters with elements like mirrors, the color blue, feathers, and basic forms such as the cone, inviting a physical engagement with sensory perception.

Moving into the second gallery, visitors encounter a sculptural installation resembling a landscape of metallic structures. These frameworks display photographs capturing the museum's architecture during its renovation – from being stripped bare to its gradual reconstruction. Interspersed among these images are approximately thirty pairs of works from the collection, presented in black and white, creating a visual dialogue between the changing museum building and the seemingly constant presence of the artworks within its holdings. Colored papers and glass are also integrated into this space, adding a theatrical quality.

To provide further context for the artist's conceptual pairings, a script is available to the public. This text, described as poetic in form, shares Charlotte Moth's interpretations and associations regarding the collection works, drawing on her research within the museum's archives. The script is also intended for regular performances within the exhibition space, where actors will read the texts.

The exhibition concludes in a room bathed in lilac light, featuring a 16mm film loop showing feathers continuously falling. Nearby, costumes are on display, anticipating future performances or recitals.

Spread across 600 square meters, the exhibition is presented as an "alchemy" of diverse elements – artworks, geographical origins, historical periods, materials, and artistic practices. It encourages viewing the museum's collection as an interconnected whole and the institution itself as a site for countless encounters between objects. The experience is intended as an introspective journey, inviting viewers to see the works in a new light.