Photo : @Clément ETIENNE
Galerie du Haut Pavé: Exhibition by Clément ETIENNE
Clément Étienne's aesthetic is an alchemy of matter, time, theater, and cinema, where transformation, uncertainty, and the memory of processes are at the heart of the artistic experience.
Galerie du Haut Pavé (Paris 5th)
About
Cinema deeply permeates Clément Étienne's practice.
More than the narratives he produces, the artist is interested in its materiality: light, scenery, space, and the processes that give birth to the image. Trained in graphic design before turning to visual arts, he develops a body of work where painting, drawing, sculpture, and installation borrow from the techniques of scenic painting as well as those of the printed image.
His research is based on speculative fiction, not to illustrate its plots, but to question the transformations of our environment. Deserted hotels, abandoned theaters, mineral architectures, or landscapes weathered by storms compose spaces where elements seem to reclaim the site. Fire, rain, air, or oxidation become forces that transform the image and reveal the fragility of human constructions.
This focus on natural phenomena runs through his entire body of work. Airbrushing, plaster, mortar, patinas, or chemical reactions become ways to explore the transformative capacities of matter. Surfaces burn, discolor, become saturated with pigments, or retain the imprint of a vanished form. The image then seems to appear on its own, as if it retained the memory of the processes that created it.
Between painting, sculpture, and installation, Clément Étienne maintains an uncertainty of the gaze. Scales are blurred, materials are confused, sets sometimes appear real while architecture becomes an illusion.
By moving cinema from the screen to the exhibition space, he makes the image a sensory matter, traversed by time, light, and the elements, where fiction continues to be built.
Text by Steven Vandeporta
Our take on this event
Step into the haunting aesthetic of Clément Étienne, a master of blending cinema-inspired set design with physical art forms like painting and sculpture. His work turns raw materials into evocative, weathered landscapes that challenge your perception of space and reality. It is a stunning, tactile experience that perfectly captures the fragility of our world.
The Galerie du Haut Pavé presents an exhibition by artist Clément Étienne, running from November 10 to December 5, 2026. This showcase explores the materiality of images through a blend of painting, drawing, sculpture, and installation, deeply influenced by cinematography and speculative fiction. By examining how nature’s elements transform human architecture, the artist challenges the viewer's perception of space and time. This event is free of charge and fully inclusive, as the gallery is accessible to wheelchair users and visitors with hearing, visual, or cognitive impairments. Visit this cultural venue in the 5th arrondissement to experience this unique investigation of fragile environments.
Located at 3 quai Montebello, the Galerie du Haut Pavé features the work of Clément Étienne, an artist who transitioned from graphic design to fine arts. His practice utilizes materials such as plaster, mortar, and airbrushing, combined with chemical processes, to explore how elements like fire, rain, and oxidation alter our environment. Through his installations, he questions the permanence of human construction, creating spaces where scenery appears to be reclaimed by nature.
The exhibition is open from Tuesday, November 10, to Saturday, December 5, 2026. You are welcome to visit from Tuesday to Saturday, between 14:00 and 18:30. By translating cinema from the screen into the gallery space, Étienne offers a tactile experience where the boundaries between real architecture and illusion become blurred.
Admission to the gallery is free. The venue is committed to accessibility, ensuring that the exhibition is open to all. It is fully accessible to wheelchair users and provides specific adaptations for visitors who are deaf or hard of hearing, blind or visually impaired, or living with cognitive disabilities.
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