Long before borders and names, the peoples of Europe lived in conversation with the forest. It sheltered them, fed them, frightened them — a vast, breathing world of spirits and unseen presences. In its depths, myths were born: gods turning into trees, voices whispering through roots and mist. The forest was not a backdrop but a living being, older than memory.
From this shared ancestry emerged the slavic figure of Leshy — guardian of the woods, trickster and protector, shifting between human, animal, and shadow. More than a figure of folklore, he is the pulse of the forest itself: unpredictable, dangerous, and generous.
Today, our lives unfold through digital architectures, guided by light and data. And yet the forest persists — as memory, as longing, as a threshold to another way of seeing. To walk among trees now is to listen differently, to remember that we are surrounded.
Leshy gathers Slavic and French artists in dialogue across myth and ecology, intimacy and technology — tracing how ancient stories still move through us, and how the forest continues to speak in a world of networks and machines.
Exhibition view Léa de Cacqueray, Illicium, 2025, 38 × 28 × 12 cm, stainless steel, ceramic, woodLéa de Cacqueray, Illicium, 2025, 38 × 28 × 12 cm, stainless steel, ceramic, woodMacha Pangilinan, Presence, 2025, 46 × 61 cm, oil on canvasMacha Pangilinan, Presence, 2025, 46 × 61 cm, oil on canvasIuliia Skromnaya, Wild Hello Kitty, 2025, 15 × 23 cm, mixed media, objectIuliia Skromnaya, Wild Hello Kitty, 2025, 15 × 23 cm, mixed media, objectIuliia Skromnaya, Wild Hello Kitty, 2025, 15 × 23 cm, mixed media, objectYouri Johnson, The Green Wanderer, 2025, mixed mediaYouri Johnson, The Green Wanderer, 2025, mixed mediaExhibition viewCorentin Darré, Take my hand #2, 2023, 29 × 21 × 11 cm, plaster, clay, acrylic, resin Corentin Darré, Take my hand #2, 2023, 29 × 21 × 11 cm, plaster, clay, acrylic, resinExhibition viewCorentin Darré, L’étincelle, 2024, 64 × 55 × 6 cm, wood, metal, walnut stain, acrylic, linseed oil Katya Quel, A forester’s corner shrine, 2025, 40 × 60 × 70 cm, wood, epoxy resin, photo transfers, foil print, plaster, polyurethane foam, acrylic paint, styropor, candlesKatya Quel, A forester’s corner shrine, 2025, 40 × 60 × 70 cm, wood, epoxy resin, photo transfers, foil print, plaster, polyurethane foam, acrylic paint, styropor, candlesKatya Quel, A forester’s corner shrine, 2025, 40 × 60 × 70 cm, wood, epoxy resin, photo transfers, foil print, plaster, polyurethane foam, acrylic paint, styropor, candlesMisha Gudwin, Crystal Staff, 2025, 150 × 30 cm, stainless steel, wood, rock crystal, aluminumMisha Gudwin, Crystal Staff, 2025, 150 × 30 cm, stainless steel, wood, rock crystal, aluminumMisha Gudwin, Crystal Staff, 2025, 150 × 30 cm, stainless steel, wood, rock crystal, aluminumMisha Gudwin, Crystal Staff, 2025, 150 × 30 cm, stainless steel, wood, rock crystal, aluminumExhibition viewIvan Volkov, Lesovik, 2025, 63 × 31 cm, ceramic, glaze, woodIvan Volkov, Lesovik, 2025, 63 × 31 cm, ceramic, glaze, woodYouri Johnson, Altar for Altered Technology III (Forest Love), 2021–2025, wood, potions, metal cup, image found in a book, jewels, clock key, wood cabin covered by acacia thornsExhibition viewYouri Johnson, Altar for Altered Technology III (Forest Love), 2021–2025, wood, potions, metal cup, image found in a book, jewels, clock key, wood cabin covered by acacia thornsYouri Johnson, Altar for Altered Technology III (Forest Love), 2021–2025, wood, potions, metal cup, image found in a book, jewels, clock key, wood cabin covered by acacia thornsPavel Polshchikov, Drown towards thee greeeen (self-portrait in the forest), 2025, 51 × 41 × 1.5 cm, plywood, paraffin, beer caps, tracing paper, markers, aluminum framePavel Polshchikov, Drown towards thee greeeen (self-portrait in the forest), 2025, 51 × 41 × 1.5 cm, plywood, paraffin, beer caps, tracing paper, markers, aluminum framePavel Polshchikov, Drown towards thee greeeen (self-portrait in the forest), 2025, 51 × 41 × 1.5 cm, plywood, paraffin, beer caps, tracing paper, markers, aluminum framePavel Polshchikov, Drown towards thee greeeen (self-portrait in the forest), 2025, 51 × 41 × 1.5 cm, plywood, paraffin, beer caps, tracing paper, markers, aluminum frameKaterina Shikhova, Sacred Bubble, 2025, 35 x 35 x 80 cm, glass jar, crickets, micropones, self-developed sound software, headphones, moss, found in the forest itemsKaterina Shikhova, Sacred Bubble, 2025, 35 x 35 x 80 cm, glass jar, crickets, micropones, self-developed sound software, headphones, moss, found in the forest itemsKaterina Shikhova, Sacred Bubble, 2025, 35 x 35 x 80 cm, glass jar, crickets, micropones, self-developed sound software, headphones, moss, found in the forest itemsKaterina Shikhova, Sacred Bubble, 2025, 35 x 35 x 80 cm, glass jar, crickets, micropones, self-developed sound software, headphones, moss, found in the forest items
Curator & Text Katya Quel / Erratum Projects Photographers Pavel Polshchikov, Misha Gudwin