David Hominal
Par cœur
Sep 3 - Oct 3, 2026
Mennour, 47 rue Saint-André-des-Arts
Mennour is pleased to present “Par cœur” [By Heart], a solo exhibition by Swiss artist David Hominal.
Made in 2026, the works are all oil on canvas and explore the heart as a recurring motif. It continues Hominal’s longstanding relationship with the gallery and brings an enduring fascination into focus.
At its centre is a sequence of seven canvases installed side by side. Each features a large heart, while cropped sections appear at the edges. When two meet, these fragments align to reveal another complete heart. Hominal worked on the group simultaneously, moving from one surface to the next so that they unfolded as an unbroken field. Even so, every canvas is distinct and can stand alone, although its composition reaches beyond its own frame. This structure assigns the image a material role: it links discrete elements instead of remaining confined to one picture. Viewed as a row, the canvases establish a shared rhythm; apart, they retain the trace of a possible reunion. The arrangement reflects a common tension within human bonds: the desire to belong without surrendering one’s autonomy. The series grew from a practical act. For an earlier project, Hominal needed to adapt two A5 drawings to an A4 format. He cut the sheets into separate heart-shaped pieces, fitting them together as a single page. A friend later asked whether he might expand the idea on a larger scale. He had no clear answer at the time, but the question stayed with him. The improvised solution gradually provided the basis for the paintings now on view.
The title “Par cœur” carries several meanings. It first evokes learning rooted in memory and bodily knowledge. For David Hominal, the process depends less on conscious analysis than on letting an action feel intuitive. There is a playful note, recalling childhood exercises and the effort of memorising a lesson until it is absorbed. A second reading concerns authorship. Like a writer’s credit printed on a book, “par cœur” [by heart] resembles a signature. Here, however, it belongs not to a person but to a symbol. Emotion is palpable, but no individual is named. The heart has accumulated associations over centuries, from medieval manuscripts to contemporary graphic culture. David Hominal found inspiration in patterned fabrics and Jim Dine’s sustained engagement with its outline. He treasured an issue of the modernist magazine Verve with a cover by Henri Matisse, as well as illustrations of winged hearts. Today, the emoji has returned this age-old emblem to daily circulation, spanning personal exchange and public communication.
Hominal had already used the heart informally, sending small drawings on canvas to friends as cards conveying good wishes. Their directness appealed to him. The icon may be bold or kitsch, gentle or unsettling. At a difficult time globally, choosing something so widely understood felt generous and necessary, since it could express care alongside darker undertones. In April 2026, David Hominal exhibited the series in the intimacy of his Berlin studio. Preparing the invitation, he noticed an unexpected coincidence: the address is on Herzbergstraße, which translates as “heart mountain.” This detail reinforced the sense that the subject had been surrounding him through recollections and chance encounters. The display also marked a farewell. Hominal will move out shortly before the Paris opening, lending “Par cœur” the character of a passage. The ensemble preserves the energy of its origin as it enters a different context. David Hominal’s method is highly physical. Getting started is not always easy, so he relies on repetition to overcome resistance. As the gesture gathers momentum, constraint gives way to freedom. In painting, movement becomes steady and almost therapeutic, allowing variation to emerge from subtle shifts rather than dramatic decisions.
A related logic informed Hominal / Hominal (2023), a collaboration with his sister, choreographer and dancer Marie-Caroline Hominal. Asked to conceive the stage design, he created an immersive setting with monochromatic walls and floor. It combined performance and visual art, dissolving sole attribution under a collective name. In “Par cœur,” that principle is reconfigured: multiple works coexist yet do not merge.
Across the exhibition, the heart operates as both an object and a painted sign. Its familiarity offers immediate recognition, though interpretation is left open. The result addresses attachment stripped of sentimentality and the quiet transformation that persistence enables.
— Nicolas Vamvouklis
David Hominal
Lives and works in Berlin, Germany