Kokou Ferdinand Makouvia — L’Alambic Cosmique de la Métamorphose — Sator Gallery — Exhibition — Slash Paris

Ends in 20 days: April 9 → May 16, 2026

For Kokou Ferdinand Makouvia, art is developed as a space for attention. A space where matter is never inert, but imbued with memories, forces, and multiple temporalities. Art does not appear as an autonomous object, but as an active relationship with the earth, gestures, bodies, and places.

Born in Togo, the artist grew up between several worlds: that of the city and that of the village, that of a Christian education and that, more underground, of animist practices observed without always being explained. Very early on, he understood that certain things cannot be said but must be experienced. The imposed silences, the slow movements, the attention paid to the ground, the trees, and objects shaped a keen perception of space. “Space became something that takes hold of you inside, something you can’t detach yourself from,” he explains. These formative experiences have since shaped the way he inhabits the world. (…)

In the exhibition The Cosmic Alembic of Metamorphosis, this approach takes on an immersive and embodied form, with the artist employing a wide variety of materials and media, from metal to ceramics, and from canvas to drawing. Upon entering, the installation Aze Ze Ame Adre, The Seven Vases of Witchcraft (2024), composed of ceramic elements, unfolds a set of principles that draw both on initiatory knowledge and a critical framework, questioning the construction of narratives and systems of thought. The journey continues past large yellow canvases that line the ascent to the upper floor. Bathed in sunlight, they create a sensory passage where the figures—sometimes upside down—disorient the viewer and draw the body into an unstable experience, as if the visitor were moving through the very heart of a process of transformation.

Upstairs, Temporary Exposure (2022–2024), a monumental drawing nine meters long, unfolds as an uninterrupted journey. Through a network of expanding lines and forms, the artist imbues the work with an intense, almost trance-like gesturality, in which the body becomes a medium of circulation between different layers of perception. The work reveals connections between what is visible and what remains hidden, allowing a deeper network of relationships to emerge. The sculptures of Blows and Knots (since 2018) extend this exploration into the medium of metal.

Born of a physical and repetitive process of forging, they crystallize movements, constraints, and physical intensity, giving form to tensions that are both intimate and collective. The exhibition thus unfolds as a space of circulation and transformation, where each work initiates a transition and invites visitors to reconfigure their perception of the world.

Christine Blanchet