With clinical control and profound sensitivity, Varennes renders his world visible through the transparent skin of materials such as PVC and glass. The porous surface of the works open onto a layered universe; veins branching like fragile maps or complex steel formations. Here, we encounter what the artist describes as spectres: protective casings, enhanced structures that suggest a body without fully restoring it, fragments of armor. Everything is measured, everything held in tension, creating a geometry of care that sustains and confines. Within this anatomy, the materials are mechanical yet tender, artificial yet alive. In this silent parade, life persists without complaint; alongside what disturbs it, alive within its own wounds.
Varennes has recently been the recipient of the Villa Busan residency prize in Busan, South Korea as well as having recently exhibited at the Louvre Lens in 2025; with works acquired by the national collections of FRAC Alsace - Sélestat (FR), FRAC Poitou-Charantes - Angoulême (FR), FRAC Occitane - Musée des Abattoirs - Toulouse (FR), Musée du Verre - Musée de France - Meisenthal (FR) and SunprideFondation - Hong Kong (HK).
Pixie 1.1
2026
Sandblasted PVC, steel, medical tubing, stainless steel
With clinical control and profound sensitivity, Varennes renders his world visible through the transparent skin of materials such as PVC and glass. The porous surface of the works open onto a layered universe; veins branching like fragile maps or complex steel formations. Here, we encounter what the artist describes as spectres: protective casings, enhanced structures that suggest a body without fully restoring it, fragments of armor. Everything is measured, everything held in tension, creating a geometry of care that sustains and confines. Within this anatomy, the materials are mechanical yet tender, artificial yet alive. In this silent parade, life persists without complaint; alongside what disturbs it, alive within its own wounds.
Varennes has recently been the recipient of the Villa Busan residency prize in Busan, South Korea as well as having recently exhibited at the Louvre Lens in 2025; with works acquired by the national collections of FRAC Alsace - Sélestat (FR), FRAC Poitou-Charantes - Angoulême (FR), FRAC Occitane - Musée des Abattoirs - Toulouse (FR), Musée du Verre - Musée de France - Meisenthal (FR) and SunprideFondation - Hong Kong (HK).
