Exude — A Quiet Language of Matter (Musarthis Art Gallery)

Verly Amé stands with assurance within a contemporary lineage in which abstraction is no longer solely pictorial, but deeply material and spatial. The work presented is distinguished by a dark, near-monolithic relief that calls to mind both wall sculpture and abstract painting. Through a subtle play of undulating strata, the artist creates a tension between surface and depth, inviting the gaze to move slowly, to follow and inhabit the variations of the material.

The deliberately restrained palette — dominated by deep blacks, shaded greys and nocturnal blues — places the work within a minimalist aesthetic informed by late modernism, while freeing itself from it through a distinctly tactile sensibility. The organic forms, without explicit narrative, evoke natural phenomena shaped and eroded by time: geological folds, silent currents, traces of a movement that once was. This formal ambiguity opens a space for mental projection in which the viewer becomes co-author of the visual experience, entering into a subtle relationship of attention.

Here, relief is not a mere visual accent: it becomes the very syntax of the work, shaping the breathing of space and the slow wandering of the gaze. There is, within the material, a gentle persistence, as though it retained the memory of an originating gesture. Nothing seeks to impose itself; everything reveals itself gradually, through a sense of restraint that allows depth to emerge.

The relationship to light is central. Depending on the viewing angle, the relief absorbs or releases delicate reflections, transforming the work into an evolving perceptual field. Light does not merely illuminate the surface; it becomes a silent partner in the work, occasionally revealing fine iridescences held within the dark folds. Nothing remains fixed; the piece seems to reconfigure itself over the duration of looking, as if time itself were gently resting upon its surface.

Presented within an uncluttered environment, the work engages in dialogue with the architecture and surrounding objects without dissolving into them. It acts as a quiet point of gravity, affirming a presence that is both understated and assured. The viewer is not summoned frontally; they are welcomed into a space of vision where contemplation finds a place to rest.

In this way, Verly Amé offers a work whose strength unfolds through discretion and constancy. A work that does not seek immediate seduction, but instead establishes an inner relationship — almost meditative — between matter, space and the one who stands before it. In this silent dialogue, something settles. The material seems to breathe, the light softens, and one remains with it for a moment, held in a quiet trust.

A new iteration of this research is currently being developed by Verly Amé, extending the dialogue between matter, light and silent relief. The Musarthis Art Gallery looks forward to discovering this forthcoming work, and to welcoming the continuation of this refined artistic exploration.

Marlena Des
Founder and Curatorial Director
Musarthis Art Gallery (M.A.G)

Exude — Monolithic Relief
Deep black, undulating folds, quiet iridescences.
Light reveals depth with the gaze.
Dimensions: 160 × 120 cm. Not available.