Anomal : qui présente un caractère d’irrégularité. Anomal, animal, anormal, du grec anômalos, inégal. En botanique, le terme qualifie une espèce inclassable, comme l’est le travail de Quentin Garel. Sculpteur travaillant le bois, le bronze, comme le fer, l’artiste diplômé de l’École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts de Paris puise son inspiration dans l’archéologie et les musées d’histoire naturelle pour créer son propre bestiaire qu’il présente depuis le 25 janvier 2020, dans une exposition monographique d’œuvres récentes au domaine départemental de Chamarande. Quel plus bel écrin qu’un château du XVIIe siècle bâti dans le plus pur style Louis XIII – attribué à Nicolas de L’Espine, architecte du roi – pour y dresser une quarantaine de pièces monumentales, tels les totems emblématiques, d’une parodie du trophée de chasse à courre anticipée ! Car tantôt réaliste, tantôt fantastique, la figure de l’animal est ici domestique, figée dans une expression d’un réalisme troublant. Quentin Garel dessine, sculpte, polit jusqu’à ce que la matière vivante du bois et de ses veines corresponde exactement à son dessein, et si l’ancien résident de la Casa Velazquez de Madrid utilise la tronçonneuse comme outil de dégrossissage, le fusain et la craie lui permettent de réaliser des esquisses préparatoires dont les dégradés de gris et l’expressivité des regards révèlent toute la virtuosité d’un travail à la main empreint de tradition. Dans l’esprit d’un cabinet de curiosité futuriste et géant, Garel instaure ici un dialogue avec « l’anomalité » révélée de ses sujets dont la matière, bois et bronze, entre en résonance avec le classicisme des lieux. L’exposition initiée le 25 janvier est prolongée jusqu’au 14 juin inclus ! En accès libre, le mercredi de 14 à 18h, et les samedi et dimanche de 13h à 18h en juin. Le parc est ouvert tous les jours de 9h à 20h de juin à septembre. Plus d’informations ici !
Les artistes français Paul Ressencourt et Simon Roche, plus connus sous le nom du duo Murmure, proposent une nouvelle série d’œuvres autour du sac poubelle intitulée “Garb-age” et explore ainsi l’impact de l’homme sur son environnement.
Le duo français imagine des créations en noir et blanc en jouant avec le reflet de la lumière sur le plastique des sacs poubelles qui se voient déclinés sous différentes formes le temps d’une série de dessins et fresques murales. Cet objet du quotidien est détourné pour se transformer en baleine ou en oiseaux, habiller le visage de deux amoureux ou faire office de fond marin. Les deux artistes confiaient à Juxtapoz : “L’idée principale était de jouer avec les couleurs d’un sac poubelle noir ordinaire autant que possible. Non seulement pour son attrait dramatique, mais aussi pour la profondeur des nuances et, en quelque sorte, l’élégance de sa texture et sa réaction à la lumière.”
À travers ce projet, Paul Ressencourt et Simon Roche souhaitent mettre en lumière la crise environnementale que nous connaissons et notamment la responsabilité de l’homme sur ces dérèglements climatiques. “Chaque œuvre est une image forte reflétant les choix auxquels tout le monde est confronté quotidiennement, entre notre connaissance des enjeux et les actions que nous pourrions faire mais ne faisons pas” partage le duo.
Le projet “Garb-age” de Murmure est actuellement présenté à la Galerie LJ de Paris qui propose une visite virtuelle de l’exposition sur son Instagram étant donné la fermeture de l’établissement suite à l’épidémie de coronavirus.
In their latest show now open at Galerie LJ in Paris, French street art duo Mumureuses black garbage bags as a medium to illustrate waste’s impact on the environment. Garbage birds flying south, an oil rig in an inky sea, and a trashbag lovers’ embrace are just a few of the powerful images forwarning a threatening dark future. We spoke to Murmure ahead of the show and learned more about their project as they traverse Europe, from Vladivostok and Rotterdam, and back to Paris.
Sasha Bogojev: What draws you to almost exclusively black and white imagery? Murmure: For this project, the main idea was to play with the colors of a regular black garbage bag as much as possible. Not only for dramatic appeal, but also for the depth of shades and, somehow, the elegance of its texture and reaction to light. That’s why we use graphite pencil, to achieve this texture. Black and white drawings allow, in a way, going straight to the point, to focus on the drawing for what it is, without any artifice. We use tiny touches of color–mostly red–as the red ‘thread’ of the garbage bag’s handle and a narrative ‘thread’ (it’s a word game in French, “le fil rouge”, literally translated as “red thread.” In English, it’s an expression that means “general subject matter”).
How do you feel about your work being compared to names like Banksy and Pejac, to name a couple? Well, it is flattering, for sure. We do not wish to do street art just to bring illustration or graphics to the street. We want to work on subjects that matter to us, to bring something personal and share our vision, as artists, of the world around us. In that sense, we like the work of artists such as Banksy or Pejac, but also many others, such as Ernest Pignon-Ernest.
What type of work have you prepared for this presentation and what techniques are employed? We are showcasing a year of work on the subject Garbage, which we spell “Garb-age,” as in, the rise of a new era. For this exhibition, we present this theme in its full extent, from nature and its various elements, to man, flora and fauna. We made about 20 drawings on paper, ranging from medium size (50 x 70 cm for the smallest) to large scale (up to 210 x 270 cm for Mauvaises Graines/Bad Seeds, or 135 x 210 cm for Garbage Whale Tail). The main medium used is a graphite pencil on paper, a bit of colored pencil and acrylic painting for the touches of color. The whole idea of this show is to warn of the current state of our planet, due to a dramatic spiral of over-consumerism. The garbage bags become birds, whale or oil spills, all symbols of a planet reaching an era of unreason.
Did you create an installation for the exhibition, or simply introduce the studio works in a “white cube” space? The exhibition at Galerie LJ showcases studio work but also highlights work made for the street. We present life-size drawings so visitors can understand the link between our vision of studio work and street art. We are also giving away a newspaper we made as a catalog for each work in Garb-age, showing all the means of expression used this past year (studio, paste-ups, murals and screen prints). This publication, like a fanzine, was made with recycled paper and is a statement for action on this ecological emergency.
What emotions do you hope to evoke from the viewer? The main goal of this exhibition is to show how art, and how street art can be singular, meaningful, and personal. We hope visitors will appreciate the technique used, but also the poetry and elegance we attempt to convey through pictures and narratives. To us, Garb-age is a meaningful project that allows us to raise awareness of important environmental issues. We hope visitors understand our message, but again, everyone is free to interpret our work the way they see it. Some of the work can be “shocking” at first sight, but each is, in our opinion, a powerful image reflecting the choices everyone faces daily, between our knowledge of the issues at stake and what we can do about them but don’t. We would love it if visitors could pass this first impression and understand there’s hope behind every picture created.
Murmure’s Garb-age is on view at Galerie LJ through April 18, 2020.
Quentin Garel ne pouvait rêver plus bel écrin pour ses sculptures animalières que le domaine de Chamarande ! Le château lui offre le décor idéal d’un cabinet de curiosités. L’artiste, dont on a déjà pu voir les œuvres en 2016 au Muséum d’histoire naturelle, laisse s’échapper ses créatures dans les salons, environnées de grandes esquisses – superbes ! Têtes de girafe ou d’autruche, mâchoire de crocodile ou pièce de squelette, l’œil est constamment aux aguets, ne sachant s’il est confronté à la réalité ou bien à une vision fantasmée. Peu importe, l’œuvre est stupéfiante, inclassable ! Une visite à prolonger absolument dans le parc.
For a first solo show, it’s hard to beat exhibiting in the heart of Paris. A stone’s throw from Le Centre Pompidou sits the avant-garde Galerie LJ, known amongst Parisians for its investment in chic emerging artists. Rithika Merchant is no exception. Having exploded onto the international scene in 2018, thanks to her collaboration with the French fashion house Chloé, Merchant’s work has become the object of consistent media attention. Most notably, earning the young artist Vogue’s title of Young Achiever of the Year in 2018.
While Merchant currently lives and works in the vibrant city of Barcelona, she was born in Mumbai, India and was subsequently educated at Parsons in New York City; as well as The Hellenic International Studies In The Arts on the island of Paros, Greece. Given her many colourful homes, Merchant posses a unique cosmopolitan worldview that is detectable in her now recognisable oeuvre. A delectable mixture of Eastern and Western motifs that intermingle with the themes of spirituality, mortality and heritage; Merchant’s best pieces are hybridised treasures that read as both familiar and foreign.
Rithika Merchant, Divine Bodhi 2017, print collaboration for Chloé SS18.
One of the most distinctive elements of Merchant’s work is her choice of medium. While many young contemporary artists favour the staples of acrylic and oil, or are introducing digital elements, Merchant has chosen to work with collage and primarily with gouache and ink on stained paper. A quick history lesson: this technique reaches as far back as ancient Egypt and Greece (consistent with Merchant’s Hellenistic education) and often produces a flat, muted colour palette reminiscent of Indian miniature paintings. Despite being revived by the Impressionists in the nineteenth century, the technique is still only the preference of a select few. Such a distinct choice immediately piqued my interest, as it is noticeably unusual and yet aligns seamlessly with Merchant’s penchant for incorporating mythological symbols – a nod to aeons gone by.
Upon closer inspection, Merchant’s first solo exhibition, Mirror of the Mindat Galerie LJ, features an array of works which share overlapping motifs and compositional similarities. Her reoccurring repertoire of symbols include the evil eye, horoscopic skies, snowy mountain peaks, botanical imagery (the lotus most often), references to palmistry, strong geometric forms (particularly red circles and semi-circles), snakes and large birds of prey. Many of these can also be found in her compositions for the folklore-inspired Chloé collaboration, suggesting Merchant is steadily charting her own unique visual language.
Rithika Merchant, Diffusion 2019, courtesy of Galerie LJ, Paris.
While Merchant has undoubtedly achieved much success through her relationship with Chloé, Mirror of the Mind represents a shift away from the mainstream media and fashion, towards the formalised art world as a whole. Unlike Jeff Koons, who earned notoriety within the art world before embarking on his lucrative fashion collaboration with Louis Vuitton, Merchant is attempting to reverse engineer Koon’s model. A lofty mission that will surely raise the eyebrows of detractors, but one I believe she may very well accomplish.
As a first solo show, Mirror of the Mind is impressive in the number of works and the sheer detailed nature of each piece, however; there is a discernible ‘greenness’ to the collection – a subtle disconnect in the selection of works. In my estimation, the body of work can be divided into two groups – cleanly composed mirror images (where if I drew a line down the centre of the image, each side would mirror the other) and narrative scenes that edge towards the overly illustrative. The ‘mirrored images,’ which include Nazarbattu (2019), Diffusion (2019) and Memory Tree (2019) are, in my opinion, the strongest works due to their balanced composition and the much-needed inclusion of negative space.
Rithika Merchant, Nazarbattu 2019, courtesy of Galerie LJ, Paris.
In her ‘mirrored images,’ Merchant demonstrates the invaluable ability to edit her compositions in favour of legibility and a more poignant visual impact. The works, while simpler than some of their counterparts, more fully communicate Merchant’s worldly artistic influences and allow her incredible details to be fully digested. By contrast, some of the narrative images feel more akin to the illustrations found in Maurice Sendak’s famed children’s book Where the Wild Things Are. Clearly, we are witnessing Merchant experimenting and flexing her muscles as a stand-alone artist, with her forward path yet to be determined.
Merchant herself seems to be a touchpoint for the intermingling of various cultures and industries. India and Greece, Fashion and Fine Art, she cleverly highlights connections that are too often overlooked. A reminder of the fluidity of culture, Merchant’s mystic collages and inky netherworlds will continue to captivate, especially if executed judiciously.
Rithika Merchant, Memory Tree 2019, courtesy of Galerie LJ, Paris.
Currently displaying in Paris, the artist weaves together symbolic images to tell a universal story
Indian artist Rithika Merchant moved to Lisbon in her 20s for an artist residency. She has now been based in Barcelona for 10 years, still diving her time between there and her native Mumbai, where she is represented by Hena Kapadia’s TARQ gallery.
The painter has a distinctive style. Her works are colourful, intricately detailed and heavily two-dimensional – all of which are characteristics of Indian Mogul painting that have long fascinated the artist. For her latest solo exhibition, at Galerie LJ in Paris, Merchant also looked to tribal painting of the Gondi, Meera and Kalighat traditions for inspiration.
Osmosis
Many of these tribal artists have coded ways of leaving signatures on their works – often through symbols or repeated images. “If you’re well versed in these signatures, you can identify the artist from them,” explains Merchant. Similarly, she too employs repeated symbolic imagery as a way of leaving her own imprint on the work and on its viewer.
From the green chillies in the painting Nazarbattu to the multicoloured kite in the Patang, Merchant represents images that recall her Indian ancestry. Objects like these form part of the artist’s exploration of objects as identity markers: “There are so many objects that are passed down through generations that are clues to your lineage,” she says. “In any Indian house you find metal glasses for drinking water – I have glasses just like those in my home in Barcelona.”
Patang
Pachisi
By carrying the memories of such objects across global boundaries, and by representing them in her work, the artist wants to present a universal kind of storytelling, one that crosses borders and is about collective roots. Rather than tying the symbols too closely to one culture, she uses them to weave together several of them – like with the kite in Patanag. Kites are are traditionally flown in certain parts of India during Sankranti, a harvest festival in January – but kite-flying is a strong tradition in many cultures of the world, like China, Merchant explains. It is much the same with mask-making, another frequent motif in Merchant’s paintings.
Nazarbattu
The majority of the works, all of which were specially created for this exhibition, have now been sold – and the buyers have largely been French and European. Despite drawing specifically on her own Indian ancestry when creating art, Merchant feels that is is by tapping into universal ideas and images that her works speak to people from different cultures and backgrounds.
The painting Pachisi, for example,depicts an ancient Indian game by the same name, which is believed to have formed the basis of many games played today the world over, like Ludo. The game board layout of the painting is instantly recognisable and awakens deep and fond memories in the viewer. “I like tapping into these ideas that everyone can relate to,” she says. “It’s interesting to see people recognising something, even though they don’t quite know why.”
Jeffrey Deitch’s 76 Grand Street outpost in New York City is currently hosting a most dynamic exhibition by the famed interdisciplinary artist, Swoon. Entitled “Cicada,” the exhibition features a series of recent animations, drawings, and surrealist installations that are an extension of her wheat-pasted portraits made using found objects. The works on display draw inspiration from her personal experience, classical mythologies, and the craftsmanship of 20th-century folkloric films.
“Swoon’s response to parts of her family history – and the legacy of her parents’ addiction and substance abuse – has recurred throughout her work,” expressed the gallery in a statement. These components inflict a strong element of realism to the films, grounding the otherwise- whimsical atmospheres of Cicada.”
Check out the installation views of “Swoon: Cicada” above and then visit Jeffrey Deitch’s website to learn more. The show is on view until February 1, 2020.
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