Philippe Cognée - Carcasses

French painter Philippe Cognée invests the new space of Galerie Templon, Impasse Beaubourg, with a spectacular installation - Carcasses - a panoptic view of an industrial slaughterhouse. Realized in 2003, this ensemble of 36 small canvases was shown in several museums including MAMCO, Geneva in 2006. It is presented for the first time in Paris.

After painting supermarkets and recycling plants, Philippe Cognée now turned to industrial slaughterhouses. He paints animal carcasses as if they were architectures or buildings. Inspired by video, he presents them in a long travelling-shot where close-ups alternate with large overviews. 

Philippe Cognée wanted to explore the theme of the « flayed ox », immortalized by Rembrandt, Soutine or Bacon. In his case, the huge pieces of flesh are bathed in a bright intense light. The artist’s complex technique of wax paint melted with hot iron creates a « blur » effect, which seems to question the notion of memory and gaze.