It’s a joyful jumble of dragons, castles, cartoon characters and more. The works of Fabien Verschaere jump out at the spectator, for spectators we become carefully perusing these delightful canvases at times magical, at times maniacal but always meaningful and ever so memorable. The contemporary French artist Fabien Verschaere is at the center of a show at the Galerie Laurent Rigail art gallery in the Marais neighborhood of Paris and he has surrounded himself with fellow contemporary artists in this upbeat, colorful group show entitled Fabien Verschaere and Guests, The Ones That We are. It’s a beautiful blend of abstract, figurative and landscape works.

The works of Fabien Verschaere have been exhibited all over the world from Paris to New York, Seoul, Hong Kong, Tokyo and beyond. They capture the imagination. He also decorated the Olympic Village for the Summer Games in Paris in 2024. No doubt imparting joy upon the athletes. His works are infused with the medieval, the comics, popular culture and childhood imaginings, in short the universal. « To paint, » he commented, « Is to sketch your own existence, to place yourself in the world while being separated from it. » 

The vivacious works of Verschaere (which often contain a self-portrait of the artist) are joined by the totemic and geometric works of the Japanese artist Yu Maeda.  Color is the centerpiece of French artist Vincent Ruffin, who only he alone knows the secret to the blue that emanates from one of his works in the show, The Wrestler. Miyaoka Takami hails from a family of Japanese potters and he has developed contemporary works that blend together traditional pottery with contemporary Pop culture. They are joined by a major figure of contemporary painting Gérard Garouste whose work draws a radiant inspiration from mythology and literature, as well as a host of other artists.

The Galerie Laurent Rigail was founded over 20 years ago as the Galerie Brugier-Rigail and remains a spearhead and hotbed of emerging and contemporary art. « It isn’t a new start, it’s a continuity that we stand by, » explains Laurent Rigail, « The gallery was always guided by conviction, not by what is in fashion. »  Street art, he explained, will take its place as contemporary art in its own right at the gallery. For this exhibition the gallery has edited some of  Verschaere’s works as lithographs or serigraphs, thus making them accessible to new collectors who may not have the budget to acquire the individual works. Something he said he remembers all too well when his love of art dawned. The current exhibition is on until April 11th. ©Trish Valicenti for The Gourmet Gazette. Galerie Laurent Rigail, 40 rue Volta, 75003, Paris, France, +33 (0) 1 42 77 09 00. https://laurentrigail.com/