Adeline de Monseignat

Skin to Skin
September 30, 2023

Adeline’s experience with motherhood has translated into her latest work as a way of thinking of stone as a sensory mirror of flesh, with its impurities and imperfections, the skin as an indication of our place within the world that encompasses us. With these ideas in mind, the exhibition titled Skin to Skin presents twenty-two new works including large-scale floor-based travertine and polished bronze sculptures, their respective maquettes, as well as wall-based pieces and a series of collage studies.

The term "skin to skin" describes the first interaction between a baby and their mother's bare chest. It’s a somatic approach to touch that arises from bodily encounters, where bodies connect through physical sensation, to cultivate heightened awareness and restore embodied wisdom. This form of bonding transcends verbal language relying instead on the body's innate intelligence to cultivate a deep sense of connection between mother and child.

The artist’s recent processes acknowledge the limitations of control and highlight the flaws of our human experience. The work displayed in this exhibition arises from a process where body and machine recognize each other as collaborators instead of fighting against their dichotomy.

In this exercise, the machine follows the trembling strokes of the artist’s human hand as a route. The imperfection is amplified to be exposed.

Adeline’s interest in tactile connection has also been shaping the concept of "sculptures for sculptures", an exploration of the contact between surfaces, "material skins", that when placed together seem to emerge from one another. These are sculptures that exist for themselves, without owing any promise of functionality to the human body.

Skin to Skin is the artist’s first solo show in Mexico, presenting a new body of work that has been incubating for the past few years. The exhibition presents a group of sculptural bodies that transcend to live independently, creating their own sense of identity and reminding us that we are a piece of the landscape surrounding us.

- Janila Castaneda
Writer and Founder of the Sculpture Publication BLOQUE.

“Skin to Skin is the meeting of two bodies, one born from the other. There is an urge to make this space in between as small as possible so that just for a fleeting moment, we might feel like one again. Failure to do so is a reminder that we are now and forever separate entities.

Within this new body of work, my attempt to mould, carve, and push one material’s surface onto another – while leaving and failing to leave as little space as possible – is a way for me to come to terms with this personal dilemma of mine.

After all, sculpture is only just a mere reflection of life.”

- Adeline de Monseignat

Colector.