Daegu | Life goes on - Imaginary: FABRICE HYBER

“Artworks encapsulate, either partially or wholly, the worlds that artists construct. My creations narrate a personal exploration into ‘understanding living beings through academic, aesthetic, and philosophical factors.’ I hope that everyone will engage with and internalize the pieces, objects, and paintings that depict or represent what life forms are. This is the raison d'être for my exhibitions in Korea. At the Wooson Gallery in Seoul, I present works that capture moments of life and the catalysts that spark it. My paintings showcased in the Daegu exhibition illustrate the moments when nature and the city expand.”

-  Fabrice Hyber

The exhibition Life goes on, which brings together Fabrice Hyber’s paintings, drawings, sculptures, objects, and video works, unfolds across Wooson Gallery Seoul and Wooson Gallery Daegu under two themes: Energy and Imaginary. These themes reflect the diverse areas of Hyber’s research while making his steadfast perspectives on the world unmistakably clear. At a time when the world is in turmoil—facing wars, environmental and climate crises, economic instability, pandemics, and migration issues—Hyber responds to this chaos by proposing positive solutions through invention. His art operates as a continuous engagement with the world, integrating art, anthropology, and science. At the core of his practice is an inquisitive observation of society and nature in all their dimensions, fostering a dialogue with them. His paintings and objects shape a process of heightened perception, embracing the richness of the world.

Fabrice Hyber states, “Each work is a call, a spark, a catalyst that responds to and fosters the possibility of change in the world.” In his pursuit of the “extraordinary”, he demonstrates an innovative approach that embraces not only “harmony” but also “errors”, which he considers equally productive. His works presented in the Seoul exhibition function like hypotheses—contemplating states of entropy and proposing ways to transcend them. Fabrice Hyber engages in deep reflection through the power of multidisciplinary art, employing a diverse range of methods. Energy and Imaginary generate figures, spaces, and dreams, which he unfolds within the Daegu exhibition space. “I create with these dreams, utopias, art, and all the lives that art offers us,” he states. Man-made structures and nature are the objects of his phantasmagoria. These are expressed not only in large-scale paintings, but also in small canvases, in which the canvas is a “tool” that allows for the combination and transformation of worlds. For instance, he combines a forest with a river to explore a mutually beneficial interaction. 

Through these two exhibitions, he invites us to explore the myriad lives that art presents, much like the countless beings drawn to the paths of intuition and invention. The improbable, dreamlike, or humorous objects on display evoke a sense of wonder, while the landscapes—composed of plants, humans, and inanimate matter—resemble chimeras, encapsulating “peculiar conceptions” that spark the viewers’ imagination.

Fabrice Hyber’s creative practice is rooted in a vitalist philosophy of regeneration, abundance, and expansion, standing in opposition to stifling repetition and convention. He believes that his works offer benefits to all. His creations urge us not to retreat into ourselves, not to imprison ourselves within rigid shells. At their core, these works are composed of interwoven networks and capillaries—intricate systems of connection. His objects, P.O.F. (Prototypes d’Objets en Fonctionnement, or Prototypes of Functioning Objects), along with his actions and paintings, function as interactions between what lies “within us” and what exists “outside us.” The essence of his practice is circulation. The exchange between these realms fosters a process of both real and imaginary seeding, integral to his artistic vision.

One must visit his home in the Vendée region of France. The seeds he once scattered have now grown into something far beyond a mere forest. They have orchestrated experiences of observation and contemplation—most notably, journeys of ingenuity and fertile imagination. He has also created a small human figure: L’homme de Bessines (The Man from Bessines), a diminutive green archetypal male figure that has traveled the world, appearing in exhibitions across continents. Brought to life by water, this “fountain-figure” releases streams in all directions, soaking the ground. Embodying both energy and imagination—the central themes of these two exhibitions—this sculpture endlessly aspires to rebirth. “How could one not begin?”—this evocative phrase by the literary writer Natalie Clifford-Barney seems as though it could have been penned by him.

With the Life goes on exhibition, Fabrice Hyber reminds us, following in the footsteps of Henry David Thoreau, D. H. Lawrence, and Cesare Pavese, that all truly great works of art are imbued with vitality. Artworks are living, breathing organic structures, whether they take the form of plants, stones, or any other manifestation of life.