Erika Verzutti
‘Sculptures Last Night’, Hôtel Balzac, Paris
20 – 26 October 2025
Erika Verzutti, ‘Sculptures Last Night’, 2025; Courtesy: Fortes D’Aloia & Gabriel, São Paulo/Rio de Janeiro © Erika Verzutti; photo: Nicolas Brasseur.
Erika Verzutti, ‘Sculptures Last Night’, 2025; Courtesy: Fortes D’Aloia & Gabriel, São Paulo/Rio de Janeiro © Erika Verzutti; photo: Nicolas Brasseur.
Erika Verzutti, ‘Sculptures Last Night’, 2025; Courtesy: Fortes D’Aloia & Gabriel, São Paulo/Rio de Janeiro © Erika Verzutti; photo: Nicolas Brasseur.
Erika Verzutti, ‘Sculptures Last Night’, 2025; Courtesy: Fortes D’Aloia & Gabriel, São Paulo/Rio de Janeiro © Erika Verzutti; photo: Nicolas Brasseur.
Erika Verzutti, ‘Sculptures Last Night’, 2025; Courtesy: Fortes D’Aloia & Gabriel, São Paulo/Rio de Janeiro © Erika Verzutti; photo: Nicolas Brasseur.
“If you possess me, you will possess all things, but your life will belong to me.” This warning, addressed to Raphaël de Valentin in Honoré de Balzac’s La Peau de Chagrin, echoes through Erika Verzutti’s in-room exhibition at the Hôtel Balzac, the author’s final residence. Curated by Julie Boukobza as part of Pourquoi Paris?, ‘Sculptures Last Night’ transforms a hotel room into a charged, ambiguous space, part crime scene, part tropical garden, part sculpture park. Verzutti’s site-specific installation explores desire, power, and the consequences of fulfilment through her sculptural language.
A group of sculptures placed as hotel guests, engaging with the textures of their surroundings, bronze, carpet, concrete, linen, marble, ceramics, and curtains. The film The Life of Sculptures (2017–2024, with Joana Luz) plays on the in-room TV, completing the narrative.