Paris: artist Rose Barberat transforms the PACT gallery into a laundromat, our photos

Don't be fooled by appearances. Since September 7, many passers-by and curious onlookers have been stopping in front of N° 70 rue des Gravilliers, in the 3rd arrondissement of Paris. If you look at the façade, you'd think it was a laundromat. But on closer inspection, doubts arise. Is it a real laundromat or a fantastic trompe-l'oeil? To find out for sure, all you have to do is push open the door.

In fact, it's Rose Barberat's new exhibition, entitled " Le Foyer " . On view free of charge from September 7 to October 7, 2023, the young French artist unveils a series of paintings dedicated to the washing machine.

And to make this installation even more unusual, Rose Barberat had the great idea of transforming the famous PACT gallery into an incredible laundromat, taking the exercise to the very last detail. In the gallery's white space, you'll find, for example, the machine for inserting coins, as well as the washing powder on the floor, the basket for depositing your laundry and, of course, the seats where you can sit and wait for your washing machine to finish. But in reality, these seats are mainly there to sit back and admire the trompe-l'œil works by Rose Barberat.

• To be read
• Tips for the weekend of December 20 to 22, 2024 in Paris: free or inexpensive outings
• Free exhibitions to see in September 2024 in Paris and the Ile-de-France region
• Exhibitions in Paris in September 2024: not-to-be-missed art events

For this installation, the young artist imagined a series of three large-format canvases, giving rise to a sarcastic ode to the washing machine, that machinic object of everyday life.

Opposite these canvases, Rose Barberat exhibits four smaller paintings, again depicting the washing machine. All in all, Rose Barberat 's work recalls the pop wave of the 1960s, while questioning our relationship with everyday objects.

A graduate of Lettres Modernes, with a Master's degree in creative writing from the Université de Cergy-Pontoise, and of the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts de Paris in 2021, Rose Barberat works at Poush in Aubervilliers. The artist has already exhibited at Galerie PACT in 2021 and 2023, and her work has also been shown at MOCO La Panacée in Montpellier in 2023, at the Givon Art Center in Tel-Aviv, Israel, and in Venice during the Biennale.

Come and discover her work until October 7, 2023 in this unusual installation, both popular and feminist. See it for free at Galerie PACT, in Paris's 3rd arrondissement!