Shop the Show: 14 Artists Consider the Meaning of the Mirror in This Paris Exhibition

Bruno Palisson, *From the Earth to the Moon 14* . Courtesy of Art Trope Gallery.

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What You Need to Know: The virtual exhibition “Mirrors: The Power of Reflection,” with Paris’s Art Trope Gallery, looks at the affinities and differences in how we see and are seen through the mirror—and the untouchable images they present. The mirror holds potent symbolism in art history. In ancient Rome, a person’s soul was believed to be contained in their reflection. By the Middle Ages, the mirror was disdained for its associations with vanity, only later to be praised for its potential offering of self-knowledge. Here, 40 works by 14 artists including Antoine Buttafoghi, Gilles Durfort, Mireille Lopez, and Florence Sartori reflect on the ways we look at ourselves, the world, and reality.

Why We Like It: In different ways, each artist encourages viewers to engage in the act of reflection. The exhibition text begins with a quote from W.H. Auden: “Every man carries with him through life a mirror, as unique and impossible to get rid of as his shadow.” In this vein, the show’s 14 artists have written short reflections on their relationship with the mirror and its relevance to their work. And of course, each work—whether a photograph, a painting, or a sculpture—reflects the circumstances of its creation.

What the Gallery Says: “I chose to offer a collective exhibition of our artists on the theme ‘Mirrors: The Power of Reflection’ to emphasize that each situation can be interpreted in a different way according to our own sensitivity and life experience. Within the 40 artworks exhibited, you can discover the perspective of each artist and their diverse artistic approaches. We offer a chance for the individual to reinterpret the works with their own reaction in parallelism and in the context of the current world health crisis. We all see things differently, and that’s the real beauty and strength of our world: let’s take care of others and ourselves.” –Virginie Tison, founder of Art Trope Gallery