Emerging among vintage posters stuck to the wall, the bust of Hermes asserts its marble presence.
Like a man who walks through walls, the god of commerce crosses layers of paper as well as centuries to remind us that trade is not a modern invention.

In ancient times, the galleries of the forum were already department stores. By reusing these posters with their outdated designs, César Malfi is following in the tradition of the new realists who, from Villéglé to Martial Raysse, used advertising posters for their materiality, their message or their aesthetics.
Here, it is a time marker testifying to a continuity in the art of commerce.
Links between antiquity and today, these fashion engravings associated with Hermes, wearing his elegant winged petasus, remind us of the care taken in dressing that is specific to humanity. "We have been beautiful for a long time!" the artist tells us mischievously.

Galeries Lafayette, Nice, November 2021.