Quantum Entanglement - Expressions of Connection
Written by Sophie Marx
Art by Marina Kappos.
In our lives, we will encounter many people, some of whom will quickly fade into nothing but a memory, while others touch our lives in such a way that their existence is deeply interwoven with our own. Connections of that force cause time and space to become irrelevant factors as two lives become entangled in synchronicity.
We might think of these concepts, often equated to soulmates or twin flames, as a human-made concept; however, the foundation of this feeling is programmed into the very particles that not only we, but the Universe, are made up of.
Two particles can become correlated in such a way that, even if they are separated at opposite ends of the universe, if one moves, the other will instantaneously mirror its movements at a speed that occurs faster than the speed of light. This is the concept of Quantum Entanglement.
Under the title of the same name, inspired by the works of exhibiting artist Marina Kappos, the Galerie Bessaud is currently exhibiting four artists, all of whom have a unique understanding and execution of portraying connection.
The New York-based Kappos was offered a two-month residency with the Paris-based gallery owned by Arthur Bessaud which is sponsored by the hospital for vision to platform artists who incorporate links to vision within their work in unique ways.
Forging a connection between distinctive visual art and visually impaired people and the staff assisting them, a special relationship redefining the approach of how we create art with different abilities of sight has been created through the partnership.
Through geometrical shapes and flat layers, Marina Kappos uses scientific principles to map sound into a visual language, interrogating human connection—a factor shaped by her life as a twin, as her existence is entangled with that of her sister.
Above artwork by Marina Kappos.
“Marina’s work has a lot of layers that create visual resonance, even on a more metaphysical level. She is really about the connection between her and her twin and connections between people in general,” explained Arthur Bessaud.
“I realize the subconscious quality of my paintings by viewing the way I connect to people, also considering I have a twin sister, and introducing a scientific element to it and mapping it into a visual language of my own,” elaborated Kappos.
It was her relationship with her therapist—their sessions beginning with discussing her past and transitioning into conversations of creativity—that catapulted her art into a new sphere, viewing connections through a scientific lens.
“I have a great relationship with my therapist. He is really interested in creatives, and we have sort of veered off talking about family things to talking about ideas. Through conversations with him, I have focused more on quantum physics, which is one of his interests.”
“So, then all of a sudden, there was a moment when all of these ideas of relationships, connections to people, and quantum physics coalesced, particularly with the idea of quantum entanglement.”
Tapping into her fascination with quantum entanglement, Kappos further shaped her style to create optic effects through transparent layers, resulting in static and still images that, at the same time, allude to optics of frequency and movement.
“In the last few years, I am making optic effects by creating transparent layers in my work. It is about connecting elements together and connecting and layering ideas together. The paintings are sent through sound and motion, alluding to frequency and movement within a static, still image.”
“It relates to the idea that what we think we see is not always the case. We are much more fluid than we think we are. The paintings are trying to capture that idea of images optically moving and dissolving.”
Her painting process has increasingly metamorphosed into studies and experiments, where she reuses and manipulates similar images, such as the human profile or a butterfly-like effect, into her own language.
“In the work, I reduce and try to minimize a lot into a sort of emptying of the narrative. I will include a profile or a face; I like the profile because it references the body, but at the same time, it’s abstract and subtle. It might not even be the first thing you see.”
“I have always held on to some narrative. I have these stories and layers of meaning in my head, but in my paintings, I only show a glimpse of an idea. I am not telling the full story. I like the idea of someone coming in and projecting their own story.”
Marina Kappos’s fascination with connecting art and science established the fertile ground for the group show inspired by her ideas. Bessaud expanded this idea to include a variety of perceptions regarding the ideas of connection and opposition.
“I love doing group shows because, for me, it’s like a bouquet of different flowers, having different artists. Nevertheless, there is always a global coherency between them; in this show, we have artists from France, Germany, Austria, and the United States.”
“What I want to reflect on is opposition and relationships between things that are either linked or opposed. I was looking for artists who do that but in very different areas.”
Contrasting different interpretations of quantum entanglement and human connection, Arthur Bessaud posed the geometrical works of Kappos opposite Camille Cottier’s nostalgic paintings of people.
“Camille Cottier paints nostalgic human figures. Her work is about loneliness but also about connections between people and the fact that we are all connected with one another. She has a deep fixation on that—on trying to showcase this individuality but also union between two people.”
Art by Camille Cottier.
“While Marina’s work is very geometrical, and the layers are quite flat, creating a resonance through solid colour, Camille’s work is about roundness. She embraces the imperfections of the strokes. They both work on connection and separation but on different levels, with techniques that are quite opposite.”
While Kappos and Cottier study topics of connection and separation with opposing techniques, the other two exhibiting artists, Marlen Letetzki and Paul Riedmueller, are concerned with perceptions of reality—what doesn’t exist and what exists only in our imagination.
“Both start from elements that they then work with through AI. Marlen Letetzki creates all her work in 3D software. For her, it’s all about creating shapes and elements that remind you of what is around you but, at the same time, that you cannot really find in real life.”
Art by Marlen Letetzki.
“She is creating still life. It’s a classical genre, but for her, it’s all between opposition and creating a link between the old-school genre and the elements she puts in, which are very 2025 and can be seen as neo-futuristic.”
Showcasing another modern take on still life and the contradictions and connections between perception, reality, and imagination is Paul Riedmueller, who, similar yet very different from Marina Kapposs, executes his work through layers, making us question what we are seeing.
“Paul has all these layers in his work. His still life is blurred, and he puts elements on top of each other, which makes the whole scene very weird, actually. By using trompe l’œil, your eye is fooled into thinking that there are all these layers.”
“He questions perception—what is real and what is not. I think there is a humour part in that. I think he finds it funny to trick the mind and to use regular elements but in very unusual situations.”
Art by Paul Riedmuller.
Even if the phenomenon of quantum entanglement, also coined ‘spooky action at a distance’ by Einstein, remains unsolved, unexplainable connections—whether between particles or humans—continue to exist and enrich our lives.
As these four artists showed, sometimes the only option for us is to accept that certain things will linger in the shadows of our not-knowing, only to manifest themselves in the art we create, enabling us to, nevertheless, share our ideas and perceptions of the mysteries of life.
