Brigitte Mulholland Presents Rebecca Purdum: Presque Rien

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Brigitte Mulholland is thrilled to present Rebecca Purdum: Presque Rien, the artist’s first solo exhibition in Paris. The show comprises eleven new paintings on linen and panel, each an atmosphere emitting light, shadow, and form. As John Yau has noted, her paintings “may resemble aspects of the natural world, but they allude to an experience beyond language. They thwart that yearning to claim ownership by naming, which we all experience, but which can prevent us from seeing and feeling sensorially.”

The exhibition’s title stems from this beautiful ambiguity and is inspired by Claude Debussy’s use of the marking ‘presque rien’ (almost nothing) on several of his scores as an instruction for the musician to play as quietly as possible. Purdum’s paintings and Debussy’s nearly silent interval have something in common: both are a momentary pause, a kind of stoppage and conflation of time, allowing one to be fully present in the moment while also simultaneously aware of something past and familiar, and awaiting something new. Each painting is its own mysterious entity, slowly revealing subtle shifts in color and texture. The experience defies words, but it is something one can palpably, inexplicably, feel.

The show runs from April 2nd to May 2nd at Brigitte Mulholland, 81 rue de Turenne 75003 Paris. For further information, please visit the gallery website.

Featured Image: Rebecca Purdum, April, 2023, Oil on linen, 101.6 x 66 cm (40 x 26 inches). Courtesy of Brigitte Mulholland

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