This wide-ranging project was developed in collaboration with the Institut Français Centre Saint Louis and the Libreria Stendhal in Rome. “Infinite Constellations” (Costellazioni infinite) proposes a dialogue between matter, time, and memory through an artistic practice that fuses painting, drawing, installation, and natural processes. Spanning three exhibition venues, it offers a unique opportunity to engage with Christine Jean’s universe, tracing the layering and transformation of both matter and creative thought.
The project began with a series of residencies the artist undertook in Rome and Paris between 2024 and 2025. During this research period—titled “Stones, Walls, Weavings of Time” (Pietre, muri, tessiture del tempo)—Christine Jean explored the effects of time and the transformation of wall surfaces. Attuned to traces of life as well as signs of erosion and abandonment, the artist photographs or takes impressions of various wall fragments. For her, the spirit of the stones—emanating from the vast span of time required for their formation—resonates with the processes at work in her own art.
As Maria Giovanna Gilotta writes, “A synthesis of a career defined by creative wandering and transformation, Christine Jean’s current project constitutes an exploration of both the forces of nature and the human spirit, as well as the way art captures and transcends their energies. At the heart of her inquiry, Christine Jean invokes the concept of the constellation, a notion cherished by Novalis. As the poet states in his ‘General Draft’ (Bozza generale), every fragment, every work, and every gesture contributes to an infinite, open whole—where the unfinished reveals a broader quest and offers a glimpse of an infinite range of possibilities.”
Program:
October 9, starting at 5:30 PM: Vernissage of a new installation of the exhibition “Infinite Costellazioni” (Infinite Constellations), focusing on Christine Jean’s work regarding the walls of Rome and Paris, and on large-format reinterpretations of pages from her sketchbooks. The exhibition will be open by appointment until November 9, 2025.
Saturday, October 11, at 6:00 PM: “Strange Fruit” – a musical performance by Gustavo Giacosa and Fausto Ferraiuolo, inspired by the pages of Christine Jean’s sketchbooks.
Poetics and Materials
Christine Jean works with raw materials, integrating paint, ink, oil, and copper. Her use of copper leaf—subject to processes of oxidation and alteration—serves as a metaphor for natural cycles of decay and rebirth. The artist incorporates chemical transformations into her painting, evoking processes of erosion, vibration, and attraction akin to the natural forces acting upon matter.
The Sketchbooks: An Archive in Motion
A central element of Jean’s artistic research is her sketchbooks—veritable living archives. During the exhibition, the artist explores and reinterprets these archives through sound and visual forms. Sketchbook pages are redrawn and enlarged onto large sheets, where the irregular surface captures the gestural movement of the hand. Every mark—even if erased—becomes temporal matter, a testament to the creative process in flux.
