Yann Leto France, b. 1979
The day after, 2024
Oil and airbrush on linen
74 × 57 1/10 in | 188 × 145 cm
Signed and dated verso
Copyright: The artist and Andrea Festa
In the heart of Rome, where ancient whispers meet modern sighs, French painter Yann Leto reveals his subconscious canvases. A solo exhibition, 'Those That Watch, Those That Know', with Andrea...
In the heart of Rome, where ancient whispers meet modern sighs, French painter Yann Leto
reveals his subconscious canvases. A solo exhibition, "Those That Watch, Those That Know",
with Andrea Festa in Rome.
Throughout the lens of the present, Yann sculpts scenes of social masquerade. In Rome and
Paris, cities of light, cities of shadow, he divides observers from connoisseurs, beginners from
veterans of life’s grand theater. Armed with an improvisational practice, Yann invites
interpretation, a dialogue with the viewer. At the same time he places himself among observers as
nothing but a witness to the birth of his own paintings. The exhibition includes a series of 5
paintings and a central sculptural work. Guiding you through a historical-modern tapestry, when
each frame is a snapshot of an unfolding story. All part of a central comic-style narrative that
accompanies you on your journey through the exhibition. Inspired by greats such as Magritte and
Botticelli, Yann seeks to reveal an ironic reality leaving clues, breadcrumbs, of an alternative
truth along the way. Whether it is a snake, a note on the floor that reads "Is this a new
beginning?", a dimly lit candle or a prophetic symbol, each is a clue to the greater truths hidden in
the moment.The 'Breaking News' painting, which greets you as you enter, frames the scene. A
domestic tableau of the banal spectacle of life, in which antagonists are glued to the events
unfolding on television. The nonchalance not only of the figure looming in the background, but
also the woman in the centre, indicative of her knowledge. Both presented in contrast to the
figures depicted in repeating shades of blue.The centrepiece of the exhibition is a dialectical
diptych reminiscent of Otto Dix's masterpiece 'Metropolis'. However, rather than depicting the
class divide that prevailed in Germany after the First World War, Yann draws our attention to
the moment of 'explosion' and the instances that follow. His use of light, a subtle nod to the
luminescent cityscapes that pervade the works. Scenes in which, distinguishing whether the
protagonist is light or dark becomes a challenge in itself. Scenes of shock and amazement inhibit
the work 'The End of the Day', in which the figures, surprised by their banality, startled from their
mundanities, seek answers to what appears nightmarish. The knowers are separated by mere
glass, with the vast separation occurs within. This tension, this closeness to the truth, a general
narrative that accompanies the subjects in the exhibition. Highlighting our ability to see so much
so clearly, but often missing what is before our eyes.The final painting, a meditation on the self.
Presented through the painful confines of a single person's Photo Booth, the subject, adorned
with beauty, struggles with her own self-image against the torment of the common man's bird, the
pigeon. Refusing to admit defeat, she longs to realise what she knows, but seems to face the fact
that she may never do so. This tragedy, so elegantly presented, is the final note in a symphony of
social introspection. Of characters grappling with indistinguishable moments of ignorance and
clarity, connected only by one another, brought to life by Yann Leto
reveals his subconscious canvases. A solo exhibition, "Those That Watch, Those That Know",
with Andrea Festa in Rome.
Throughout the lens of the present, Yann sculpts scenes of social masquerade. In Rome and
Paris, cities of light, cities of shadow, he divides observers from connoisseurs, beginners from
veterans of life’s grand theater. Armed with an improvisational practice, Yann invites
interpretation, a dialogue with the viewer. At the same time he places himself among observers as
nothing but a witness to the birth of his own paintings. The exhibition includes a series of 5
paintings and a central sculptural work. Guiding you through a historical-modern tapestry, when
each frame is a snapshot of an unfolding story. All part of a central comic-style narrative that
accompanies you on your journey through the exhibition. Inspired by greats such as Magritte and
Botticelli, Yann seeks to reveal an ironic reality leaving clues, breadcrumbs, of an alternative
truth along the way. Whether it is a snake, a note on the floor that reads "Is this a new
beginning?", a dimly lit candle or a prophetic symbol, each is a clue to the greater truths hidden in
the moment.The 'Breaking News' painting, which greets you as you enter, frames the scene. A
domestic tableau of the banal spectacle of life, in which antagonists are glued to the events
unfolding on television. The nonchalance not only of the figure looming in the background, but
also the woman in the centre, indicative of her knowledge. Both presented in contrast to the
figures depicted in repeating shades of blue.The centrepiece of the exhibition is a dialectical
diptych reminiscent of Otto Dix's masterpiece 'Metropolis'. However, rather than depicting the
class divide that prevailed in Germany after the First World War, Yann draws our attention to
the moment of 'explosion' and the instances that follow. His use of light, a subtle nod to the
luminescent cityscapes that pervade the works. Scenes in which, distinguishing whether the
protagonist is light or dark becomes a challenge in itself. Scenes of shock and amazement inhibit
the work 'The End of the Day', in which the figures, surprised by their banality, startled from their
mundanities, seek answers to what appears nightmarish. The knowers are separated by mere
glass, with the vast separation occurs within. This tension, this closeness to the truth, a general
narrative that accompanies the subjects in the exhibition. Highlighting our ability to see so much
so clearly, but often missing what is before our eyes.The final painting, a meditation on the self.
Presented through the painful confines of a single person's Photo Booth, the subject, adorned
with beauty, struggles with her own self-image against the torment of the common man's bird, the
pigeon. Refusing to admit defeat, she longs to realise what she knows, but seems to face the fact
that she may never do so. This tragedy, so elegantly presented, is the final note in a symphony of
social introspection. Of characters grappling with indistinguishable moments of ignorance and
clarity, connected only by one another, brought to life by Yann Leto
Exhibitions
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Those That Watch, Those That Know, Andrea Festa Fine Art
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