The series of Vanities by Karel de Gendre presents itself above all as a reflection on life, its brevity, its zaniness. Skulls, emblematic symbols of death recovered by our society as aesthetic objects, seem to laugh and make fun of our manias, our fears and our dreams. The skulls sparkle, shine, burn becoming the elements of a joyful and burlesque language.

Under Karel’s brush, Dracula has finally returned to the world of the dead, Ray Charles continues to smile at us behind his dark glasses.

His approach is free from the divine and classical dimension of the vanitas of the 17th century, it is an ode to life and its full enjoyment. It is a modern-day Carpe Diem, witness to our ephemeral and sometimes futile life, always respectful of the meaning that must be given to it. The vanity of vanities being this laughter, this lightness, this humility that we must keep within us, because whatever happens the finality remains the same for everyone.

The divine then quietly regains its meaning.