credit photo - Basil Perot
Adèle Vivet :
(1996)
Lives and works in Paris
Born into a family of historians specializing in Romanesque and Gothic architecture, Adèle Vivet developed a perspective deeply informed by remnants of the past. Every reference becomes a prism, a lens through which she interrogates the present. Her work moves fluidly between a passion for certain historical knowledge and its modern relevance in light of their original contexts and her fascination with club culture and rave spaces as outlets—tools for mental health.
Representation and ornamentation hold a central place in her practice, as they shape, in every era, a singular vision of bodies—and more specifically, of female bodies. Her dialogue with History is meticulously documented and enriched by exchanges with experts and researchers. Through rigorous iconographic research, she explores flamboyant Gothic and gathers diverse archives to understand how these movements and their features—more broadly, aesthetic canons—evolve with societies and ideologies.
With a background in design, she explores hybrid zones where artifacts become ornaments, accessories turn into sculptures, forming an intimate language, a mirror capable of reflecting the psyche and resonating with others. Through painting, 3D printing, writing, and ceramics, she engages with themes of fantasy, body dysmorphia, and self-hatred. As Hélène Cixous wrote in The Laugh of the Medusa (1975), anti-love is a stigma that erodes women's self-esteem. To depict oneself, to gaze oneself from every angle, is a paradoxical form of narcissism: “a narcissism that only loves itself to be loved for what women do not have.”
Adèle Vivet tackles a visceral subject, giving form to a deep physical and psychological frustration, to her struggles with eating disorders, and the burden of guilt. Without promising healing or redemption (to herself or others), her work seeks to materialize these invisible tensions and provoke reflection on these intimate experiences.
Adèle Vivet studied object design at the École Boulle, the ESAD in Saint-Étienne, and the Design Academy Eindhoven. She has held several solo exhibitions in various venues, most recently at La Grande Passerelle (Saint-Malo), Galerie Hyperbien (Montreuil), the Pier-2 Art Center (Kaohsiung), and in Oisterwijk (Netherlands). She has also taken part in numerous group exhibitions, such as Dark Room at Les Sheds (Pantin – curated by Mathilda Portoghese), at La Vallée (Brussels), Les Arches Citoyennes (Paris), Le Sample (Bagnolet), Fokus Ornament (Vienna), Confort Mental (Paris), and Dutch Design Week (Eindhoven).
Alongside her artistic practice, Adèle Vivet teaches in various art and design schools including ESDAC, LISAA, and STRATE Design.
She is currently a resident of the Non Étoile collective in Saint-Ouen.
Texte - Mathilda Portoghese
2025 - cur. Mathilda Portoghese
2025 - La Sorcière et la Sirène - duo Show avec Blanche Vivet - la Grande Passerelle - Saint-Malo
2023 - Adèle Vivet - Chapitre 1 - galerie Hyperbien - Montreuil
2022 - Pier-2 Art Center - The Plague-19 - Kaohsiung - Taïwan
2020 - EKWC - Everyday Ornament - Oisterwijk - Netherlands
Group Shows
2025 - solidary auction for Palestine - cur. Talia Hausman and Lulma Guit - 22 L’galleu - Ivry sur Seine
2025 - Dark Room, cur. Mathilda Portoghese - les Sheds - Pantin
2024 - Là où les murs se rappellent cur. Julie Stoclet - Turbo Collectif - Pantin
2024 - Festival Hyperlien - La Vallée - Brussels - Belgium
2024 - Les Mortels frôlent le ciel - cur. Julie Stoclet - les arches citoyennes - Paris
2023 - Les murmures des Vestiges - cur. Virages - Confort Mental - Paris
2023 - scenography and sculptures - release party De là Je l’Espère and Matière Production - Glazart - Paris
2023 - Flux - cur. Chute Libre & Radio Sofa - Le Sample - Bagnolet
2022 - Vienna Design Week - Fokus Ornament, cur. Liv Vaisberg - Vienna Austria
2022 - De Snoepwinkel cur. Pete Fung - Dutch Design Week - Eindhoven Netherlands
2022 - Collectible Fair - Brussels - Belgium
2022 - Copycat curated by Helene Breumer- Harleem - the Netherlands
2021 - Dutch Design Week - Blast from the Past - Eindhoven - the Netherlands
2021 - Paris Design Week - Espace Commines
2021 - Moving Stasis - HET (Het Nieue Institut) - Rotterdam - the Netherlands
2020 - Live in Living Space - DDW Contextual Master online exhibition
Residencies - Programs
2025 - Passerelles Program (Contemporaines) - 1 year of mentorship with Melanie Courtinat curated by Nadiejda Hachami
2024 - 2025 - SHEDS residency (Pantin’s culture and art center) with Turbo Collectif - supported by the city of Pantin - France
2024 - Achille’s residency programm, domaine de la Briantais - Saint-Malo - France supported by the city of Saint-Malo
2023 - Virages Program - artistic collaboration and mentorship with Kai Yoda (from the duo Ittah Yoda) supported by DRAC Île de France
2022 - Art et Design residency at Pier-2 Art Center - Kaohsiung - Taïwan
2021 - Art et Design residency with Genius Loci collective - Studio Kuhlman Bremm - Germany
2020 - Ceramic residency at EKWC (European Ceramic Work Center) - Oisterwijk - the Netherlands
Education
- 2020 - Master of Art in Fine Arts and Design, Contextual Department - Design Academy of Eindhoven, the Netherlands
- 2018 - DNA Design - ESAD Saint-Etienne - France
- 2016 - BTS Product Design - École Boulle - Paris
Teaching - jury
- STRATE Design - Paris - biomecanique - art/design culture and history
- LISAA Architecture - techno and society - scenography
- Esdac Paris - writing methodology
- Nantes Atlantique - jury
- Camille Claudel - Vaureal - tutor and jury for DNMADE