PM GALLERY at Lille Art up! 2026: Closed

Lille Grand Palais, France 12 - 15 March 2026 
Overview
Lille Grand Palais, France G13 https://www.artsy.net/show/pm-gallery-pm-gallery-at-lille-art-up-2026
PM GALLERY is proud to propose a compelling conversation between two artists: Nathan Chantob and Ástríður Jósefína Ólafsdóttir. Both artists approach figurative painting as a means to explore human presence, identity, and the fluid boundary between visibility and obscurity.
Works
Installation Views
Press release
Their dialogue presents two deeply contrasting yet interconnected perspectives on existence and, most importantly, the human body.
Nathan Chantob’s work delves into the psychology of human expression. Through dynamic brushstrokes and an intensely physical engagement with paint, he captures the fleeting emotions of the moment, both in facial expressions and muscle structure. His figures emerge from the canvas in a raw state, often interrupted by violent streaks of paint that blur the lines between portraiture and abstraction.
Ástríður Jósefína Ólafsdóttir approaches the human body by stripping it of its direct representation in favour of its imprint. Her series "Panneggio" transforms drapery into a sculptural language, where veiled figures exist between presence and absence. Inspired by classical painting techniques and her background in aerial acrobatics, her work speaks to the resilience of form showing how movement, pressure, and weight leave traces in fabric, just as they do in memory.
Coming from the same generation of artists but representing different cultural heritages and artistic backgrounds, Nathan and Ástríður each approach figurative painting in their own way. This exhibition brings together two young yet mature artists with strikingly different paths: a self-taught French graffitist and an Icelander trained in the classical Italian school.