Aurore rose

February 13, 2025 – March 14, 2025

Opening: February 13th, 6pm

Artists: HAN Qin  | Florian MERMIN

Curator: Ange LECCIA

Aurora Rose offers a unique dialogue between the universes of Qin Han and Florian Mermin, where softness and strangeness intertwine in a dreamlike logic. The exhibition, conceived as a shared dream, invites an exploration of the porous boundaries between the organic and the symbolic, creating a troubled balance, yet sensual.

In Qin Han’s work, the bodies float in infinite spaces. The feminine figures, stylized and nude, evoke a primitive and harmonious state where breasts become clouds, and planets become organic extensions. In her collages and drawings, the shades of pink and red vibrate, infusing her forms with an optimistic vitality. Far from descriptive realism, her works celebrate a universal and instinctive connection to the world, where humanity merges with a cosmic whole.

In echo, Florian Mermin explores a nature steeped in ambivalence and mystery. His sculptures, such as Effleurement, where clawed hands hold delicate roses, question an ambiguous sensuality, both tactile and olfactory. Nature, in his work, adopts unsettling yet fascinating attributes, oscillating between attraction and repulsion. Through the presence of eyes, claws, vegetal and animal forms, he evokes a gothic esthetic, where strangeness coexists with familiarity, reminiscent of the imagination found in fantastical tales.

The exhibition unfolds as a punctuation of space, with the works rhythmically guiding the viewer’s personal experience. In the initial rooms, the pieces engage in intimate dialogues: small works by Qin Han and ceramic petals by Florian Mermin observe one another, their formats delicately resonating. The monumental of Pot-Pourri, with its sharp thorns, then echoes the pink and black collages, where the serpentine nature of the forms bridges the infinitely large and the infinitely small, merging the cellular and the cosmic into a vibrant continuum of flesh.

Moving forward, the game of echoes multiply. A cactus-shaped collage responds to a wall sculpture resembling a hat made of branches, extending this organic and dreamlike atmosphere. However, it is in the basement where the works reveal their singularity.

Here, the pieces break away from earlier dialogues to assert themselves fully: anthropomorphic and vegetal sculptures occupy the space with newfound autonomy. This transition marks a shift toward a more pronounced exploration of materiality and its transformations, embodying both presence and trace. The forms evoke the tactile memory of gestures, suspended in a dialogue between the ephemeral and the durable.

While Aurora Rose is rooted in a familiar surrealist vocabulary, it powerfully reaffirms the relevance of this language in exploring the relationship between the body and the imagination. The works of Qin Han and Florian Mermin unfold a space where dreams seep into the every day, inviting us to revisit forms and symbols that, though familiar, retain an intact evocative power.

ARTIST|HAN Qin

Qin Han (born in 1987 in Dalian, China) is a visual artist, who graduated from the École Nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts de Paris in 2016, and l’ École des Beaux-Arts of Hangzhou in 2010.

Her artistic universe explores themes such as the body, dreams, love, and humor, which she interprets through a distinctive visual practice. Skillfully combining diverse visual techniques, with a playful touch, she creates surreal bodily configurations suspended in a wild spiritual space. Her works invite viewers into an intimate inner world, accessible only through dreams and psychoanalysis.

Qin Han has been recognized with several prestigious awards, including the Prix Thaddaeus Ropac and the Prize from the Fondation Jean-François and Marie-Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre. She also received honors from the jury of the Beaux-Arts de Paris. In 2024, she was selected as one of three artists for a residency in Mallorca, organized by the Galerie Continua.

Her works have been exhibited both in France and internationally at renowned places, including the Museum of Hunting and Nature, Palais de Tokyo, Espace Pierre Cardin, Fondation Richard, Fondation Brownstone, Bernard Boesch Museum, MAC VAL, Ming Contemporary Art Museum in Shanghai, Guangdong Museum of Art in Guangzhou, and the Echigo-Tsumari Triennale in Japan.

ARTIST|Florian MERMIN

Graduate from the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in 2015, Paris, with the Jury’s Honors, his works have been shown in many institutions such as le Musée International de la Parfumerie in Grasse, le Frac Meca in Bordeaux, Le Musée de la Chasse et de la nature, La Grande Halle de la Villette, Le Palais des Beaux-Arts in Paris, l’Espace d’art contemporain Camille Lambert in Juvisy-sur-Orge, le Centre d’art contemporain Passerelle in Brest, La Fondation d’Entreprise pour l’art contemporain Caisse d’Epargne in Toulouse… and in international exhibitions such as the Biennale of Lyon, France, the Museum Palazzo di Mocenigo in Venezia, the Castello di Lajone in Quattordio in Italy.

Florian Mermin is the recipient of multiple awards; Sculpture / Installation ‘s Foundation Prize (2016), Kristal’s Prize of Salon de Montrouge (2017), the Planète art solidaire Prize organized by Art of change 21 and the Maison Ruinart and the Georges Coulon Sculpture Prize awarded by the Académie des Beaux-Arts and the Institut de France (2021).

CURATOR|Ange LECCIA

Born in 1952 in Minerbio, in the commune of Barrettali in Corsica, Ange Leccia is a French contemporary artist, known for his work in painting, photography and cinema, with a predilection for video art. 

After studying the plastic arts, he developed a prolific artistic career, exhibiting his works in prestigious institutions such as the Modern Art Museum of Paris, the Centre Georges Pompidou, and the Guggenheim Museum in New York. His creations have also been featured at major international events, including the Venice Biennale and Documenta in Kassel.

In parallel to his artistic practice, Leccia has been deeply involved in education and knowledge sharing. He has taught at the Ecole Supérieure d’Art de Grenoble, and the Ecole Nationale Supérieure d’Arts de Cergy-Pontoise (ENSAPC). From 2000 to 2007, he directed le Pavillon, a creative laboratory of the Palais de Tokyo in Paris, where he mentored and inspired numerous young artists, contributing to the rise of talents such as Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster and Philippe Parreno. 

Accomplished filmmaker, he has directed several films, beginning with his first short film, Stridura (1980). His cinematic work, characterized by an aesthetic exploration of light and sound, includes notable productions such as Île de Beauté (1996) and Gold (2000), co-produced with Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster.

In 2022, Ange Leccia presented the exhibition “(D’) Après Monet” at the Musée de l’Orangerie in Paris, offering a poetic and sensitive interpretation of Monet’s famous Water Lilies.

In recognition of his exceptional contributions to culture and the arts, he has been named a Knight of the order of Arts and Letters, and a Knight of the National Order of Merit, as well as a Knight of the Legion of Honor.

Ange Leccia continues to live and work between Paris and Corsica, exploring various media and pursuing artistic collaborations.