Louis Le Kim (b. 1990, Paris) graduated from Villa Arson, the École des Beaux Arts in Nice, in 2013. His formal artistic education at Villa Arson emphasised conceptual installation, honing his skills in crafting three-dimensional works from steel and wood. However, after graduation he primarily focused on painting,
a medium that felt deeply familiar yet infinitely expansive. Exploration represents a core aspect of his practice, and his travels are recorded through photography and video. It is painting, though, that allows Le Kim to project himself into various spaces and create the labyrinthine realms we see in his works on canvas. In 2023, he was featured in Univers Sans  at the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Valence, a group show curated by Thomas Schlesser, which included works by Giorgio De Chirico and Yves Klein. Le Kim’s practice reflects a profound engagement with the interplay of space, memory, and the built environment. Growing up amidst the urban landscape of Paris, the artist was captivated by the hidden and often inaccessible spaces of the city — places that evoke a sense of curiosity and wonder. This early fascination laid the groundwork for his artistic exploration. His creative trajectory has been shaped by transformative experiences, notably a year spent living in an underground power plant in Paris. This experience altered his perception of society and architecture, providing him with a unique vantage point as an “outsider” even while deeply embedded within the city’s fabric. This duality of perception informs much of his work, allowing him to explore themes of absence and presence in urban landscapes, always devoid of human figures. His travels have also significantly influenced his practice. A pivotal journey to the Semipalatinsk nuclear testing site in Kazakhstan, as well as multiple visits to war-torn Iraq and the 7000-year-old archaeological remains of Uruk, one of the first cities in history, have led him to examine the haunting beauty of mostly deserted sites and the scars of history etched into the landscape. Le Kim employs these “in-between” spaces — where the echoes of the past resonate — as a jumping off point to create landscapes that exist
between memory, dream, and at times it seems, prophecy. Louis describes his work as a reflection of contemporary reality, often infused with an atmosphere of
existential contemplation. He remarks, “These black-painted surfaces and the structures entering it suggest the infinite of possibilities we can imagine while trying to continue through the darkness. It reflect at the same time the limits of our appreciation but bring us back to the fact that it is simply a painted surface.” His canvases invite viewers to engage with the unseen, to traverse landscapes that are both suggested and impossible.

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                                                                                              Alisei Apollonio 

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