Pauline Pavec and Quentin Derouet invited GALERIE DEROUILLON, GALERIE HELENBECK AND THE ART ADVISERS BEHIND ARTPRO PIERRE AND ALEXANDRE LORQUIN To ORGANIZE A SECRET EXHIBITION WITHIN three abandoned residential spaces BEFORE THE RENOVATION WORKS were launched.

Walking through the half emptied Parisian apartments, they found objects that have been collected through a lifetime, and got inspired to build the story of a ghost individual / collector through artworks that acted as souvenirs. The homes were filled with a curated collection of works and design objects, such as paintings, rugs, large pieces of embroided fabric, and even cutlery and antique books. The ensemble pushes the visitors to re-vive their own personal and intimate past by putting on display someone else’s life…a last dance before fading into the oblivion. The exhibition was conceived as an invitation to recreate a Proust madeleine-effect on a human scale in a space where art, smells and sensations intertwine. Some of the pieces blend in the décor, others standout alone such as paintings and drawings by Aristide Maillol, Quentin Derouet, letters by Danh Vo, sculptures by Arman.

The exhibition meditates on the question of what really makes a piece of art eternal and if the world’s recognition is really needed to leave a mark in time, for a time close to forever. What L’Antidestin seems to suggest is that objects and artworks that have witnessed the life of human beings, their fights, victories, love affairs – stand as the only traces of their existence against death, and therefore as tokens of a collective memory.