"KONBINI" by Alice Des

“Konbini” is Alice Des's second solo show at SLOW Galerie, and if you liked ‘Marée haute, marée basse’ in 2022, you'll love ‘Konbini’, where you'll rediscover her sense of composition, always graphic and pure, the sensuality of her brushwork, her beautiful flat tints of color, and a ferocious appetite for fantasy!

But first of all, as a preamble to this presentation, a quick lexical point: a “Konbini” is a Japanese convenience store open 24/7. Every neighborhood, every street has its Konbini, an essential part of Japanese daily life. There are over 56,000 Konbinis in Japan! In 2024, Alice Des leaves for an artistic residency in Japan, at the foot of Mount Fuji. For this great lover of Japanese culture, it's a dream come true. For weeks on end, Alice paints over 50 sketches, street scenes, objects and people: “Inspiration is everywhere. That's how I came up with the idea of creating my own creative Konbini, painted entirely with Turner gouaches made in Osaka. In this convenience store, you'll find everything your heart desires. Will you be tempted by a Ramune, the local lemonade? Or a Parfait, those wonderful ice-based desserts served in an elegant stemmed glass?  Visually, Japan is a source of unparalleled wonder. It's known for its magnificent prints and its talent for calligraphy, but when you're there, every object will catch your eye. From the acid colors of antique toys and fluorescent kakemonos, to the clever graphics of store packaging, from temple doors to city neon lights, beauty is everywhere. We are constantly oscillating between the effervescence of detail and simplicity, between tradition and modernity. We meet “yokai”, the traditional little demons, and lucky animals, chubby mascots and colorful festivals, unreal-colored sodas and whisky prized the world over. ”