Exhibition
Orpheus, the Last Gaze?
From August 12 to 24 2026 at the Abbey of Saint-Jacut-de-la-Mer
David Balade offers a personal interpretation of the timeless figure of Orpheus, a foundational myth of love, loss, and creative power. Through a series of some twenty new works, the artist presents a sensitive and contemporary reinterpretation of this universal legend, questioning humanity’s place in the world, its fragility, and its capacity to rise again after adversity.
In this series created using mixed media on paper, Orpheus is not simply the poet descending into the underworld to find Eurydice. He becomes a symbol for each of us facing the loss of what is essential: a loved one, a certainty, an ideal, a part of ourselves. David Balade explores this pivotal moment where the pain of loss seems to engulf everything, but where a new strength can also emerge.
Exhibition from August 12 to 24 2026
Daily from 3 pm to 7 pm
at the Abbey of Saint-Jacut-de-la-Mer
Free admission
Lecture (in French)
Orpheus, the Last Gaze?
Orpheus descends to the underworld to bring Eurydice, who died prematurely, back to the land of the living. There, he charms the shades, sways the infernal powers, and obtains the impossible on the condition that he not turn around and try to see her before she returns to the light. Unfortunately, Orpheus turns around too soon and loses Eurydice forever.
But why did Orpheus turn around to look at Eurydice?
This lecture will explore one of the most enigmatic gestures of ancient mythology. Drawing on the texts of Virgil and Ovid, and their modern extensions in Western art and thought, David Balade will use images to examine this moment when sight becomes loss, and this human desire to try to hold onto what always eludes us.
Thursday, August 13, 2026 at 6:00 PM
at the Abbey of Saint-Jacut-de-la-Mer / Salle de l’Arbre
Free admission
For more information, contact David Balade: davidbalade@hotmail.com