Camille Blatrix approaches sculpture through a language he derives from the manufactured objects that litter our lives. His complex, elaborate installations are a mix of disparate materials (metal, wood and plastic). They also oppose mass-produced elements with others which have been hand-crafted; a balance that instils each sculpture with an emotional aura.

For this exhibition at Lafayette Anticipations, his first large-scale show in Paris, Camille Blatrix was invited to occupy the top level of the glass exhibition tower, designed by Rem Koolhaas. This transparent space overlooking the surrounding rooftops has something of a penthouse feel, where power and opulence have reached their limit, and must be replaced by other conquests, a possible redemption, or a spiritual, mystical quest. At the centre of this peculiar interior, an ambiguous sculpture — suggesting a succession of high-tech kitchen islands — presents the fundamental elements of life (water, fire, air, etc.) like as many stages in some unknown rite of passage.

The space is also dominated by an imposing marquetry panel; a decorative, almost baroque element which hints at a possible presence. As a counterpoint, an influx of light disrupts this static fetishization of objects at regular intervals.

Fortune is Camille Blatrix's first solo show at a major art venue in France. It in fact carries on a longstanding dialogue between the artist and Lafayette Anticipations, after Joining Forces with the Unknown, a pre- opening show in 2016, and the semi- permanent work he created for the lower ground-floor gallery in 2018. All the works in this new project were produced on-site, in the Lafayette Anticipations studios.