Carole Rivalin: When Play Becomes a Driving Force for Creativity at the Galerie de Rohan
Exhibition “Ludique et poétique” (“Playful and Poetic”) — 8 May to 31 October 2026
At the Galerie de Rohan in Landerneau, the exhibition Ludique et poétique brings together five artists around a central question: how can play become a source of inspiration and a genuine driving force for artistic creation? From 8 May to 31 October 2026, works by Carole Rivalin, Arthur Lambert, Karina Bisch, Patrice Carré and Jean-Yves Brélivet invite visitors to explore a world where experimentation, humour and poetry meet. Among these distinctive artistic approaches, Carole Rivalin’s work stands out for its relationship with rules, protocols and the unexpected possibilities hidden within everyday objects and situations.
Carole Rivalin: Exploring Rules to Reveal the Unexpected
At the heart of Carole Rivalin’s practice lies an experimental approach that involves observing an environment, a medium or a situation, and then applying a precise protocol to it. Starting from these initial constraints, the artist brings unforeseen properties to light and opens up new perspectives on the world around us.
Rules, therefore, are not limitations that hinder creativity. On the contrary, they provide a starting point, a framework within which unexpected forms, associations and situations can emerge. By establishing a set of conditions, Carole Rivalin transforms experimentation into an artistic process in which discovery plays an essential role.
This approach has a close connection with the notion of play. To play is to accept rules, test their possibilities, explore their limits and sometimes subvert their intended uses. In the same way, Carole Rivalin’s work invites us to consider protocols as tools for exploration, capable of transforming our perception of an object or a space.
The appeal of her approach also lies in the tension between rigour and freedom. Although a protocol establishes a framework, it does not necessarily determine every outcome of the experiment. Creation thus unfolds within an open space, where a method can give rise to unexpected results. This way of approaching art encourages viewers to look at familiar things with fresh eyes and to question the mechanisms that shape our relationship with the world.
Play: A Space of Freedom Between Art and Life
With Ludique et poétique, the Galerie de Rohan explores the many connections between art and play. Far from being limited to entertainment, play emerges as a way to experiment, challenge habits and question established rules.
This dimension takes a different form in each of the five artists’ practices. In Carole Rivalin’s work, it is expressed notably through protocols that structure experimentation. In Arthur Lambert’s paintings, it appears in geometric compositions that bring order to chaos and challenge the viewer’s perception, moving between figuration and abstraction.
These two approaches demonstrate how constraints can become fertile ground for creativity. A simple rule, structure or system can generate a wide variety of outcomes and open up a field of exploration far broader than its apparent rigour might suggest.
The exhibition thus highlights a fundamental idea: artistic creation does not necessarily imply absolute freedom. It can also emerge from a defined framework, an instruction or a method, provided the artist succeeds in exploring its potential.
Five Artists, Five Ways of Playing with Creativity
Alongside Carole Rivalin, four other artists enrich this exploration by offering complementary approaches to play, imagination and art history.
→ Arthur Lambert: Between Geometry and Perception
Arthur Lambert builds his paintings around elaborate geometric structures. By organising forms, he works with disorder and creates visual balances that challenge perception. Moving between figuration and abstraction, his works invite the eye to wander, establish connections and reconsider what it thinks it recognises.
→ Karina Bisch: Reinventing the Forms of Art History
Karina Bisch has developed a multifaceted practice informed by a wide variety of materials and techniques. Her work draws on the history of modern art, reworking and transforming its forms, codes and methods. This process of appropriation, shaped by a contemporary sensibility, brings historical references into dialogue with creative freedom.
→ Patrice Carré: Humour as a Means of Reappropriation
Humour plays an important role in Patrice Carré’s work. His admiration for major figures in art history is accompanied by an unconventional perspective that encourages viewers to reconsider works that have sometimes become untouchable. By playing with established references and representations, the artist opens the way to a freer, more personal relationship with artistic heritage.
→ Jean-Yves Brélivet: Animal Sculptures with a Fable-Like Quality
Jean-Yves Brélivet’s work belongs to a tradition reminiscent of the fabulists. His animal sculptures appeal through their playful character while offering a critical perspective on the contemporary world. Behind the apparent lightness of their forms lie deeper concerns, serving as warning signals about the imbalances of our time.
An Exhibition Balancing Lightness and Depth
What makes Ludique et poétique distinctive is its ability to bring together different artistic practices around a shared idea: play can be a means of understanding, questioning and transforming our environment.
The lightness that runs through these works never implies an absence of reflection. Rather, it offers a way of approaching complex subjects while leaving room for curiosity, imagination and sensory experience. Humour, rules, geometric forms, historical references and animal figures all become gateways to a broader reflection on our relationship with art and life.
In this context, Carole Rivalin’s work is particularly compelling. Through specific protocols and constraints, the artist demonstrates how creation can emerge from attentive observation of reality and methodical experimentation. Her approach reminds us that play is not merely a spontaneous activity: it can also serve as a research method, a tool for revealing the unexpected and a way of renewing our perspective.
The exhibition therefore invites visitors to move beyond a purely contemplative approach to art. Looking becomes an active experience, involving the search for connections, the recognition of rules, a willingness to be surprised and an acceptance that meaning gradually takes shape.
The Galerie de Rohan: A Place to Discover Contemporary Art
Located in the heart of Landerneau, the Galerie de Rohan offers an exhibition accessible to a wide audience, where a diversity of artistic practices contributes to a shared exploration. Curated by Catherine Elkar, the exhibition brings together five distinctive artistic worlds, united by their ability to turn play into a space for invention and questioning.
For contemporary art enthusiasts and visitors keen to discover original artistic approaches, Ludique et poétique offers an opportunity to explore works that combine experimentation, sensitivity and freedom.
Carole Rivalin’s work offers a particularly illuminating perspective on how a rule can become a creative tool. By transforming constraints into possibilities, the artist reveals the richness of an approach in which the rigour of a protocol never rules out surprise.
From 8 May to 31 October 2026, the exhibition Ludique et poétique at the Galerie de Rohan invites visitors to discover five distinctive ways of bringing art and play into dialogue, with a particular focus on Carole Rivalin’s experimental practice. It is a reminder that playing, creating and looking are all ways of freely exploring the world around us.
Practical Information
- Exhibition: Ludique et poétique (“Playful and Poetic”)
- Dates: 8 May to 31 October 2026
- Artists: Carole Rivalin, Arthur Lambert, Karina Bisch, Patrice Carré and Jean-Yves Brélivet
- Curator: Catherine Elkar
- Venue: Galerie de Rohan
- Address: 9 place Saint-Thomas, 29800 Landerneau, France
- Telephone: +33 (0)2 56 31 28 15
