From the Forests of Bordeaux to Düsseldorf’s Rare Cabinet: Laurent Le Deunff and “Kuriosität”

Sies + Höke gallery invites us into the uncanny yet mesmerizing atmosphere of a “cabinet of curiosities” with French artist Laurent Le Deunff’s first solo exhibition at the space, titled “Kuriosität.” In this selection, which runs until February 28, 2026, the artist leaves the viewer alone with that simple yet shattering question: “What exactly are we looking at?” These sculptures—poised on the thin threshold between knowledge and wonder, between the discovered and the invented—appear as though they have slipped out of a forgotten room in a natural history museum or from the hidden garden of our own apartment building.

Le Deunff’s working process offers a rare tale of craftsmanship and patience in today’s increasingly digital art world. The artist begins by personally collecting tree trunks from the forests of Bordeaux, transporting them to his studio, and dividing them into three sections with a chainsaw. What follows is a sculptural version of the Surrealists’ famous “cadavre exquis” method: while carving one section, Le Deunff makes no prior decision about what the next piece will become. Guided by intuitive flow, this process fuses animals, plants, and everyday objects into totem-like compositions. In Le Deunff’s hands, they transform into living diaries where nature and craft speak to one another.

The true impact of the exhibition lies in the provocative dialogue between real wood and fake wood. The artist uses technique not merely as a means of display, but as an apparatus of illusion that tests our perception. The sculptures appear as though placed inside a diorama; the viewer is drawn into a game of distinguishing what is organic from what is artificial. This situation, set within Düsseldorf’s modern and sharp-lined architecture, prompts questions about the place of the primal and the strange. By layering different strata of existence in this revived rare cabinet in his studio, Le Deunff reminds us that nature is not only out there—it is constantly being re-carved in the hidden corners of our minds.