JOHANNA DUMET: FOOL FOR A LIFETIME
KÖNIG GALERIE is pleased to present Fool for a lifetime, Johanna Dumet’s solo exhibition where she introduces outdoor sculptures for the first time.
September 10 – November 09, 2025
The exhibition begins on the façade of the church, where two large-scale sculptures—”Le roi de cœur“ (The King of Hearts) and ”La reine de pique“ (the Queen of Spades)—greet visitors before leading them inside. Since 2010, Dumet has collected playing cards found in the street, a quiet practice of observation that asks how a single card leaves the deck—and where it might end up. Here, that question takes sculptural form. The works are made of hand-painted, subtly warped aluminum, echoing cards that have wandered—bent by time, weather, and chance.
At St. Agnes, the sculptures form a site-specific dialogue. The King rests gently on the overhang above the entrance, slightly crumpled; the Queen is positioned on the brutalist tower, gazing outward. Between them unfolds a silent exchange—a connection that spans both space and narrative, echoing Dumet’s fascination with objects imbued with memory, movement, and meaning.
Upon entering the Nave, visitors encounter ”King for a Day, Fool for a Lifetime“, a monumental structure shaped like a house of cards. Standing nearly five meters tall and composed of 15 aluminum plates, each painted by hand and measuring 170×100 cm, the sculpture transforms a fragile game into an enduring monument. At its peak sit the King and the Joker—a pairing that upends traditional hierarchies. The Joker, or the Fool in tarot, is a figure of freedom, play, and creative potential. In Dumet’s structure, imagination holds equal ground with power. The card castle becomes a space where dreaming is its own form of resistance—and folly, its own kind of wisdom.
Embedded into the surfaces are glass beads from India, French religious medals, vintage playing cards, ribbons collected over the years, and even pieces of jewelry the artist once wore. Each element becomes part of a quiet storytelling—in the painting ”V Le Pape“ (the Hierophant), a small medallion; in ”XII Le Pendu“ (the Hanged Man), a card from her grandparents’ deck; in ”XIX Le Soleil“ (the Sun), a ribbon kept since a trip to India 15 years ago. Together, the paintings function as both images and objects—talismans shaped by time, memory, and intuition.
Dumet’s fascination with tarot began in childhood, growing up in the French countryside. “My grandmother has the habit of reading the cards to herself—once I happened to witness this quiet, and intimate moment” she recalls.