Transformer is thrilled to present Jardin Intérieur, a solo exhibition by DMV based artist Marie B Gauthiez. The exhibition explores the layered nature of identity and the distortion of time within the intimate confines of a room. Here, dissonance and harmony intertwine, mirroring the complex and often contradictory passages of the self. Fragments and holes can be seen as steps of growth or loss of identity, while mending, covering, and reassembling are necessary acts of assertion. The environment acts as an allegory, restaging a sense of place that feels both familiar and unsettling.

Central to this work is an investigation into modularity through grids and strata. The layers question what it means to make do with what you have and how reinvention as a tool for continuity of the self can lead to recons in spite of grief, detours, immigration. Gauthiez delves into how accumulated experiences and emotions can be materialized and perceived. The very shapes and motifs within the space hold personal memories for the artist, but invite contemplation and curiosity on the part of the viewers as they try to make sense of the histories embedded in form and surface.

Gauthiez uses traditional media like oil, acrylic, watercolor, graphite, ink, monotype as well as DIY home carpentry such as plaster, grout, spackling compound, old collected wallpaper, wood. Drawing inspiration from the architect Louis Kahn’s quote, Gauthiez honors the inherent qualities of materials and their specific tendencies. All the different parts of the room are not mere supports, but active participants in the narrative that expands the painting field to the entirety to the gallery surfaces, blurring the boundaries between artwork and environment. This ultimately hints at Gauthiez’s on-going interrogations on what constitutes the fundamental essence of an individual’s being, their sense of identity and capability despite the internal and external pressures.