Ghost at La Lison Gallery: our photos from the exhibition Before the Ashes

La Lison Gallery hosts from April 9 to May 16, 2026 "Avant les cendres," a solo exhibition by the artist Fantôme focused on black, line, textures, and abstraction, in a dialogue between visual arts and tattooing. Through layering, strokes, and dark matter, the artist reveals a pared-down universe.

Black is never just a color; here it becomes a language in its own right... In Paris, the La Lison Gallery presents from April 9 to May 16, 2026 Avant les cendres, a show by Fantôme devoted to black, line, texture, and abstraction, in a dialogue between the visual arts and tattooing. Through a suite of original works built on stroke, layering, and a pared-down visual script, the artist renders black as a material, a light, and a space for projection.

Designed as a prequel to the exhibition Cercles, in Nancy, Avant les cendres broadens several strands already at the core of Fantôme’s practice: drawing, matter, reliefs, but also this approach of turning black into a space of projection rather than a mere color. For Fantôme, this black catches the light, reveals subtle vibrations, carves out lines, and lets an accessible abstraction emerge—one that favors sensation over explanation. The viewer is not asked to decipher a precise message, but to step into an open mental space.

Our take on the exhibition Avant les cendres at La Lison Gallery:

The show was available for a preview ahead of its opening. On the walls, numerous works hung in a spectrum of black tones, the artist playing with nuance and density to yield different hues, a bit reminiscent of Pierre Soulages. The tones come from a mix of inks and oils, but also involve fabric or ash, creating a range of effects and a broader approach to his practice beyond a singular monochrome vision.

Our recommendations:

The gallery is fairly intimate and quickly traversed, so take your time to appreciate each work—that’s the idea. Don’t hesitate to step into the space: in our photos, textures and shadows don’t render perfectly (an inherent limitation of photography). It’s not ideal if you want to catch every nuance of the pieces. Enjoy your visit!

The presence of Fantôme at the galerie La Lison takes on real significance. Based in the La Bête Humaine salon, the gallery is explicitly aiming to bridge contemporary art with the tattoo universe. And it’s precisely in this crossroad that the artist operates, moving from canvas to wall—and onto skin. He sums it up himself, describing himself as "often on the line: a tattoo artist who produces visual arts, a visual artist who tattoos". For him, the line isn’t merely a graphic element: it also marks a boundary between what is shown and what is kept private, between the visible image and a more intimate side.

The artist also explains that they want "to develop a universal language, without code, without a reading key, open to the imagination and to introspection, accessible to all". Avant les cendres seeks above all to forge a direct link with the visitor, without overdoing it. With its blacks, textures, and forms reduced to the essential, Fantôme offers a sober exhibition that leaves room for the gaze and for interpretation. Also a way to raise the question of what becomes of a work when it travels beyond its own exhibition space.

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