RHIZOME
Ateliers Courbet is pleased to announce Rhizome by French artist Pierre Bonnefille — marking the artist's first solo exhibition in the United States. Opening September 2025 at Ateliers Courbet Gallery (134 Tenth Ave., NY, NY 10011), the exhibition will unveil Bonnefille's latest Rhizome series of functional sculptures, each a physical expression of the artist's meditative explorations.
This new series of functional sculptures, titled Rhizome, is French artist Pierre Bonnefille's latest exploration of his lifelong reverence for nature's mineral palette, its evolving character and philosophical significance across civilizations. The collection draws inspiration from ancient traditions and their various uses of mineral pigments, particularly those found in Eastern Asian artistic practices, dating back thousands of years to early civilizations.
Crafted by Bonnefille's meticulous hand in his remote countryside studio in the South of France, each piece engages with ancestral knowledge of mineral transformation and the Earth’s energy. The works employ an ancient layering technique, in which impressions are formed through more than thirty meticulous applications of crushed minerals, carbon powders, and natural pigments sourced from around the world. This centuries-old method - nearly identical to processes used by early Asian artisans for contemplative artworks and ceremonial objects - produces distinctive, organic textures that are impossible to replicate through industrial means.
Born in Saint-Quentin, France in 1958, Bonnefille lives and works between Paris and the remote southern countryside of France. There, he creates textural compositions that capture the essence of nature's palette. His masterful layering techniques incorporate elements including crushed minerals, carbon powders, and natural pigments sourced from around the world—creating surfaces imbued with meditative depth. Exemplified in the Rhizome series, the artist's seemingly monochromatic surfaces carry depth and nuances from the marks of more than 30 meticulous layering steps. The work is a tribute to the natural processes of alchemy and transformation of raw materials through the artist's meticulous intervention. Each surface treatment reflects Bonnefille's zen-inspired approach to creation, where the gesture is subject to both the artist's hand and nature.
The exhibition includes two of the artist’s most iconic abstract expressions on wall panels, including a monumental five-panel composition created with copper powders and mineral pigments on metallic mesh stretched across canvas frames. These surfaces shimmer with subtle variations reminiscent of ancient bronzes found throughout Asia, revealing Bonnefille’s study of historical patination techniques once revered as sacred transformations in Eastern traditions.
Bridging ancestral heritage with contemporary design, Bonnefille's pieces are crafted using time-honored techniques sustained through generations. With a mission to foster, develop, and honor the world's rich mineral craftsmanship legacy, Bonnefille was appointed Maître d'Art in 2010 by then French Minister of Culture, Frédéric Mitterrand. Since his formal education at École Boulle and École Nationale des Arts Décoratifs de Paris, the artist has actively supported his practice through extensive travels across Asia, developing functional works rooted in cultural heritage through their concept, materiality, and meticulous craftsmanship.
