Acne Paper x Peter Schlesinger at Palais Royal A Journey Through Intimate and Symbolic Forms
Acne Paper will present, from October 23 to December 14 2025, a curated selection of ceramic works by New York-based artist Peter Schlesinger. Known for his monumental vases, Schlesinger in this exhibition reveals a more intimate and personal side of his artistic practice. Here, trees, plants, and human figures shaped in clay become protagonists of a narrative marked by the delicacy of forms and the poetic subtlety of symbolism. The eight works on display, created between 2013 and 2019, embody Schlesinger’s ongoing dialogue with the human figure and the natural world. These elements are not merely botanical representations but take on emblematic significance, speaking of growth, gesture, and deep connection, often in direct relation to the human body. The choice of glazed stoneware gives these sculptures a tactile immediacy, almost material in nature, drawing the viewer into a sensory as well as visual experience.
Between Myth and Ritual
Through titles like Man Pruning Tree and Man with Forked Tree, Schlesinger evokes scenes of ritualistic and intimate interaction, as if they were sacred moments or ancestral gestures of care and transformation. In contrast, works like Small Grove and Three Cypress reference meditative landscapes, reduced to archetypal forms that suggest contemplation and introspection. The aesthetic sobriety of these ceramics hides a profound symbolic complexity. The works, grounded yet full of life, reveal a personal and distinctive sculptural language, capable of intertwining the artist’s personal mythology with the universal history of nature and human experience. Each piece thus becomes a small narrative, an invitation to reflect on the relationship between man and environment, between form and meaning.
Schlesinger’s Return to Paris
This exhibition holds special significance as it marks the tenth anniversary of Peter Schlesinger Sculpture, the show presented by Acne Studios in New York in 2015. At the time, the exhibition was accompanied by the publication of a photographic monograph created by Schlesinger’s life partner, Eric Boman, who sensitively captured the essence of the artist’s work. For this occasion, Acne Paper is releasing an expanded second edition of the book, enriched with new works and a foreword by Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Mark Stevens, offering an even deeper and more contemporary perspective on Schlesinger’s artistic practice. On October 23, a book signing with the artist will take place at the Parisian gallery, a moment for direct engagement between the public and the creator.
Peter Schlesinger, born in Los Angeles in 1948, studied at UCSC and UCLA before moving to London in 1968, where he attended the Slade School of Fine Art and immersed himself in the city's vibrant art scene. A versatile and international artist, active for over forty years in photography, painting, and sculpture, Schlesinger lives and works between Manhattan and Bellport, NY. His ceramics, developed with growing dedication since the 1990s, represent a bridge between classical form, art history, and the intimate dimension of personal experience, a journey that this exhibition and its publication celebrate with elegance and depth.