« 𝐁𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐁𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞: », a solo exhibition by Valentin Vert, curated by
@indiberaud , is on view at the french institute Berlin
@ifkudamm until January 11, 2026.
Best Before: explores the challenges of preservation—of data, artworks, and life itself. It brings together a series of sculptures whose vertical forms are inspired by geological core samples. Containing mercury, these ambivalent structures function both as measuring instruments and archival devices, where ecological tensions and symbolic narratives intersect. The works engage in dialogue with freely reworked archival images: from cinnabar mining to Cézanne’s pigments, from industrial excess to the poisoned waters of Minamata. Through this layered temporal and narrative mesh, the exhibition questions our ability to coexist with the toxic residues of the contemporary world—and implicitly raises the question of our own ecological expiration date. 1. Cinnabar (native mercury), core sample 2. Presence of cinnabar in Montagnes en Provences, 1886, Paul Cézanne, 2025 & Kermès des teinturiers, 1715, Pierre Joseph Garidel, engraving, published in “Histoire des plantes qui naissent aux environs d'Aix en Provence”, BNF collection 3. and 4. Torricelli Mercury barometer, core sample 5. and 6. Cinnabar and Torricelli Mercury barometer 7. and 8. “Safe Catch” tuna 9. and 10. vermillion production from metallic mercury & Presence of vermilion in The Origin of the Milky Way, 1575-1580, Jacopo Tintoretto, core sample
Photography by Luca Girardini
@luca_girardini_photography
Les Vitrines is a curatorial project from the “Jeunes commissaires programme” supported by the French ministry of Culture.
@bureaudesartsvisuels
Exhibition produced with the support of the Carta Fund (/).
![[BEST BEFORE: — LES VITRINES 2025]« : », a solo exhibition by Valentin Vert @valvert_ , and curated by @indiberaud, is on view at the french institute Berlin @ifkudamm until January 11, 2026.Best Before: explores the challenges of preservation - of data, artworks, and life itself. It brings together a series of sculptures whose vertical forms are inspired by geological core samples. Containing mercury, these ambivalent structures function both as measuring instruments and archival devices, where ecological tensions and symbolic narratives intersect. The works engage in dialogue with freely reworked archival images: from cinnabar mining to Cézanne’s pigments, from industrial excess to the poisoned waters of Minamata. Through this layered temporal and narrative mesh, the exhibition questions our ability to coexist with the toxic residues of the contemporary world - and implicitly raises the question of our own ecological expiration date. Valentin Vert (b. 1996) lives and works in Marseille. His practice, at the intersection of sculpture, industrial design, and craftsmanship, is grounded in a historical, social, and political reading of technical gestures. The resulting forms shape speculative narratives: animated artefacts bearing buried memories, witnesses to disappointed futures or still possible fictions. In 2023, he was awarded the François Bret Prize. His work has recently been presented at Art-o-rama in Marseille, Château de Servières in Marseille, Villa Benkemoun in Arles, Centre Wallonie-Bruxelles in Paris, and La Villette for 100% l’Expo.Photography by Luca Girardini @luca_girardini_photographyExhibition produced with the support of the Carta Fund (/).Les Vitrines is a curatorial project from the “Jeunes commissaires programme” supported by the French ministry of Culture.@bureaudesartsvisuels](https://sp1.picnob.com/p/pt_6721276064505949333727_0_b581a68d8a4fbf302579f1b66a8b2664.jpg?o=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&h=84025a1b2c58d1ac94b990f8e149443d)
![[ LES VITRINES 2025 — BEST BEFORE:]« : », a solo exhibition by Valentin Vert @valvert_ , and curated by @indiberaud, is on view at the french institute Berlin @ifkudamm until January 11, 2026.Best Before: explores the challenges of preservation—of data, artworks, and life itself. It brings together a series of sculptures whose vertical forms are inspired by geological core samples. Containing mercury, these ambivalent structures function both as measuring instruments and archival devices, where ecological tensions and symbolic narratives intersect. The works engage in dialogue with freely reworked archival images: from cinnabar mining to Cézanne’s pigments, from industrial excess to the poisoned waters of Minamata. Through this layered temporal and narrative mesh, the exhibition questions our ability to coexist with the toxic residues of the contemporary world—and implicitly raises the question of our own ecological expiration date. Valentin Vert (b. 1996) lives and works in Marseille. His practice, at the intersection of sculpture, industrial design, and craftsmanship, is grounded in a historical, social, and political reading of technical gestures. The resulting forms shape speculative narratives: animated artefacts bearing buried memories, witnesses to disappointed futures or still possible fictions. In 2023, he was awarded the François Bret Prize. His work has recently been presented at Art-o-rama in Marseille, Château de Servières in Marseille, Villa Benkemoun in Arles, Centre Wallonie-Bruxelles in Paris, and La Villette for 100% l’Expo.Photography by Luca Girardini @luca_girardini_photographyExhibition produced with the support of the Carta Fund (/).Les Vitrines is a curatorial project from the “Jeunes commissaires programme” supported by the French ministry of Culture.@bureaudesartsvisuels](https://sp1.picnob.com/p/pt_6721144349145749686628_0_8934fc4d09f3a8b3e55dad346b4e2653.jpg?o=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&h=eab127f28bd2eadb049ac02040ec2b58)
![[LES VITRINES 2025 - OPENING] Opening June 27th – 6 pm at Institut français Berlin @ifkudammBest Before:, a solo exhibition by Valentin Vert @valvert_ , is the second chapter in the Les Vitrines 2025 cycle curated by Indira Béraud @indiberaud.Best Before: explores the challenges of preservation—of data, artworks, and life itself. It brings together a series of sculptures whose vertical forms are inspired by geological core samples. Containing mercury, these ambivalent structures function both as measuring instruments and archival devices, where ecological tensions and symbolic narratives intersect. The works engage in dialogue with freely reworked archival images: from cinnabar mining to Cézanne’s pigments, from industrial excess to the poisoned waters of Minamata. Through this layered temporal and narrative mesh, the exhibition questions our ability to coexist with the toxic residues of the contemporary world—and implicitly raises the question of our own ecological expiration date. Valentin Vert (b. 1996) lives and works in Marseille. His practice, at the intersection of sculpture, industrial design, and craftsmanship, is grounded in a historical, social, and political reading of technical gestures. The resulting forms shape speculative narratives: animated artefacts bearing buried memories, witnesses to disappointed futures or still possible fictions. In 2023, he was awarded the François Bret Prize. His work has recently been presented at Art-o-rama in Marseille, Château de Servières in Marseille, Villa Benkemoun in Arles, Centre Wallonie-Bruxelles in Paris, and La Villette for 100% l’Expo.Exhibition produced with the support of the Carta Fund (/).@bureaudesartsvisuels](https://sp1.picnob.com/p/pt_6733725827174321132665_0_8f3363b686c43423582c980948bb357d.jpg?o=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&h=7ee1c7bd2a058fdfe2b1c4b8400f5b7a)
