DELAGE + OLSON
How can an image emerge from almost nothing? A single dot says almost nothing. It indicates a premise, a presence, a position, an amount of light or an intensity of colour. But a multitude of dots can create information complex enough for the eye to perceive a face, a body, a scene or a combination of colours. It is around this paradox that ‘Dots’ is built, an exhibition devoted to the dot as the minimal unit of the image and of information.
For his painted canvases, the artist uses the halftone principle to transform photographs into constellations of dots. The size, density and distribution of these dots make it possible to reconstruct the tones, volumes and features of a face. From a distance, the eye brings these fragments together and reconstructs an almost photographic image. As one draws nearer, this sense of continuity disappears: the face unravels, revealing the multitude of paint spots from which it is composed. The viewer thus experiences a dual perspective. They first see the image, then the individual units – the information – that enable the image to exist. This tension between holistic and fragmentary perception runs throughout the entire exhibition.
The same principle is at work in the light-based works: here, the medium is light. The figures are not, strictly speaking, drawn: they emerge from the interplay between the full (light) and the void (darkness), between what is visible and what is concealed. Other works utilise polyester filters derived from the world of cinematographic lighting. Complex structures of dots of varying sizes and densities enable the creation of perfect gradients. These gradients thus appear as information that is in fact produced by a skilfully organised combination of units of light that are imperceptible in their own right.
This way of constructing the image evokes several systems of representation that are part of our everyday lives: printed photography, halftones, digital pixels, screens and projection technologies. All rely, in different forms, on the ability to produce a complex perception from simple elements. But the works in “Dots” do not seek to replicate the workings of digital technology. Rather, they offer a physical and sensory experience. Painting, laser cutting, polyester, transparency and light make perceptible what usually remains invisible: the structure beneath the image. The dot thus becomes a form of language. Taken in isolation, it is almost abstract. When arranged with others, it conveys information. And ultimately, it is the viewer’s gaze that completes the final step: it brings together, interprets and transforms this multitude of fragments into a coherent image.
Through a variety of media, the exhibition explores the boundary between fragments and the whole, figuration and abstraction, matter and light, information and perception. It invites visitors to vary their viewing distance, moving from image to sign, from sign to matter, and from matter to light.
Exhibition from 24 September to 7 November 2026.
Opening on Thursday 24 September, from 6.30 pm to 9 pm.
Image above: February 17 (detail), 2026. Acrylic on canvas. 160 x 160 cm