From June 5 to 18, 2026, the Perrotin Gallery opens the doors to a universe where the eye is easily fooled. For her first solo exhibition in the Marais space, Serena Carone unveils an intriguing theatre of illusions in glazed earthenware, where the real constantly flirts with the fake.
At the Paris-based artist, born in 1958 and entirely self-taught, trompe-l'œil isn’t a stylistic flourish: it’s second nature. Long before she began shaping clay, Serena Carone already enjoyed blurring the lines by hand-painting the stamps on letters she sent from abroad. The best possible certificate of authenticity? Seeing those fake stamps duly canceled by the postal services.
Since then, her appetite for the simulacre has kept taking shape. Cameras, phones, turntables, scooters: objects recreated from mere packaging before the artist found ceramic as her ideal playground. A demanding medium that she turns into a genuine machine of illusions.
As this free exhibition unfolds, certainties waver. Octopuses, dogs and domestic disasters populate a strange bestiary where shapes seem to crumple, sag, or collapse before our eyes. Metal, paper, fur, flames: the earthenware disguises itself and multiplies false appearances. Serena Carone isn’t merely aiming to imitate reality, but to unsett le the way we read it. By making painting and sculpture converse in a single material, she orchestrates a jubilant game of deception.
Since signing the statue of torero Nimeño II in Nîmes, making a mark on visitors at the Museum of Hunting and Nature in 2017 at Sophie Calle's invitation, and crafting creations that became emblematic for Astier de Villatte, Serena Carone reminds us that when it comes to illusion, appearances are never where you expect them to be.
Dates and Opening Time
From June 5, 2026 to June 18, 2026
Location
galerie Perrotin - Saint-Claude
10 Impasse Saint-Claude
75003 Paris 3
Access
Metro line 8 "Saint-Sébastien Froissart" station
Official website
www.perrotin.com
