Seeing is Believing

"Seeing is believing" is the title of a solo show by mounir fatmi opening tonight at Galerie Hussenot, 5 bis, rue Haudriettes, in the 3rd. This eagerly anticipated exhibition is fatmi's first show with the gallery and his first solo show in Paris in nearly 2 years. "Seeing is believing" continues fatmi's exploration of the connectivity between large social structures such as architecture, religion, politics and art history,as well as the minute relationships found in everyday existence. This is perhaps most evident in a series of prints that line the wall with statements that read, "Minimalism is Capitalist," or "Futurism is Facist." They are semi-joeky but at the same time, imply other readings of classic art historical movements. The visual language of Russian constructivism, such as Malevitch's iconic "Black Square" is referenced in works such as the large square set high up on the wall, built from black VHS cassettes and in the video piece showing censored text of FBI files of interviews with the black panther's that has been reduced to the essential forms of black and white.

In a new piece titled "les assassins," about 80 hookhas are placed in the center of the room, their coils for smoking layed out for viewers to take a puff. The title comes from a historical link tracing the etymology of the word assassin-believed by many to come from the word hasish or Haschichiyoun, the name of people who smoked Hasish which was frequently smoked in the hookhas or the french word, nargile. This translation of the name was made popular in the West during the time of Marco Polo, although other readings exist inlcuding a link to the Assassiyoun, or those loyal to Assas, or the foundation of law. Whatever may be the case, the work is both beautiful and haunting and is purposely placed in view of a photograph from fatmi's latest (still in-progress) project, "Sleep," which spins the famous Andy Warhol film of John Giorno sleeping for 6 hours to show the author Salman Rushdie, a Warholian type personality most famous for once having a fatwa against him, in vulnerable repose and in view of "les assassins."

In all of fatmi's artwork and installations we are at first attracted by the graphic, aesthetic quality, but soon we get drawn into a deeper understanding of his intentions and the subversive nature of the work which always presents various layers of interpretation. The exhibition is on view through February 20.

Camarena Photo

Chris "Cam" Camarena is a photographer with not only a great name, but great talent. He has an amazing gift with portraiture-which stems in part, I think, from his open and friendly attitude with all sorts of people from Brooklyn cops to sassy NYC chicks to Ecuadorian Indians. People are drawn to his good energy and therefore are not afraid to let the guard down and allow him to let his skills with the camera fly. He seamlessly fuses the worlds of fashion and contemporary photography- moving comfortably between the two without any compromises. Cam works in the genre of "street photography," capturing the essence and soul of his Brooklyn neighborhood, or his travels around the world, but he has also done studio shoots, where he styles his models in goofy get ups including his latest series of staged "athletes" perfectly posed but with unsightly cuts/blood/bruises. You can see his portfolio on his website, www.camarenaphoto.com

Tereza Vlckova

An exhibition of photographs by Tereza Vlckova, a young artist from Czechoslovakia is on view at Galerie Lefebvre. This is the first contemporary exhibition for this gallery, which specializes in French Art Deco. The furniture and paintings from the early 20th century have been cleared away for these colorful and engaging photographs. On view are a selection of images from four different series she has been developing over the past several years; the title of the exhibition, "A Perfect Day, Elise..." takes its inspiration from the Lewis Carroll classic, Alice in Wonderland. The images portray young women jumping, flying or running in a landscape in the countryside, the same landscape photographed by the famous Czech photographer, Josef Sudek. The figures seem ethereal, like apparations in their own fantasy. In another series she photographed young twins, standing side by side, again placed in a nature, although it feels an artificial nature. Something seems off, almost creepy the way the young children, identical including their dress, stare out at you. For a more recent body of work, Vlckova photographed her young cousin, wearing a bathing suit in a landscape, with llamas. The colors are super artifical and saturated, a la David Lachapelle and Pierre and Gilles, but the provactive yet innocent impression of the work calls to mind Sally Mann. You can the references to other, older photographers including Anna Galskell, Justine Kurland, and that mid 1990S Yale Photography school aesthetic, as well as Rineke Dikstra and Loretta Lux with the twin photos, but the work is not derivative. Vlckova clearly has her own voice and will no doubt continue to engage and entice us as she moves forward. 15, rue Pre aux Clercs, 75007. Tues-Sat. 11-6pm

Liz Deschenes-Sutton Lane

On view at Sutton Lane Gallery is an exhibition of work by New York artist Liz Deschenes. The series, titled Right/Left, presents four large photograms, the results of leaving photo sensitive paper outdoors during the night. After the exposure she applies a layer of silver toner to create a slightly reflective surface that resembles an antique mirror or the results of some chemistry experiment, which in a way, these works suggest. At first glance, you have a hard time gathering what it is you are seeing. You almost get an urge to wipe the surface to see if it changes. The usual skepticism with abstraction kicks in and then quickly dissipates when you learn the techniques and practice of the artist.

Set in the tiny, gray and white space of Sutton Lane, the show looks very elegant, timeless in way. It is simple/minimal work, while also engaging. Deschenes has a way of manipulating the photographic process of development, or post-picture taking (here no camera was even used), and pushing the boundaries of what this medium can represent. Man Ray brought the use of the photogram to a sort of acceptable medium/mainstream but Deschenes is taking it to another level. This seems certainly to be a fitting abstract art of the 21st century. On view through November 28.
www.suttonlane.com

FIAC

Starting yesterday and on through Sunday is the FIAC art fair. The Grand Palais plays host to the more blue chip galleries such as Gagosian, Galerie Lelong and Paula Cooper while the cour carre shows galleries that are more "edgy" with perhaps a younger age group of artists. I went to the opening at the Louvre last night and really do not have much exciting to report--it is an art fair after all and tends to make one without a large pocket of money to spend, feel dizzy and overwhelmed. Good booths at Galerie Hussenot and Lombard Freid, as well several funky galleries from Amsterdam and Brussels. www.fiac.com

Two cool projects worth knowing:

Contemporary art is viewed as an international field, but usually the reference is to the billions of biennials or art fairs around the globe, or the amount of travel an artist may do in one year getting to all these events. But reading in yesterday's nytimes.com about Ross Bleckner being nominated as the UN Goodwill ambassodor, following in the heals of Angelina Jolie and Mia Farrow among others, I was pleased about seeing a painter who could be said to define the 1980s art market gold rush tackling serious global crises. Bleckner traveled to Uganda and worked with children who have been victims of rape, war, disease, etc., giving them materials to paint and draw. The drawings will be auctioned at a benefit dinner in NYC to raise money to continue the project. I know Angelina did a lot to raise awareness to war crimes and poverty and one or two lucky kids now have Brad Pitt as a dad (pretty sweet for them), but this project seems really hands-on, perhaps providing a small source of therapy for these young kids.

Later in the day yesterday I read about an exhibition titled "Human/Nature: Artists Respond to a Changing World," developed by The Contemporary Art Museum in San Diego and the UC Berkeley Art Musuem which invited contemporary artists to make a project in response to a World Heritage Site. www.artistsrespond.org Similar to the Bleckner project, Xu Bing, an important Chinese artist, visited the Mount Keyna National Park in Kenya, and decided to do a project about the fragile eco-system and asked the children from the area to create drawings about the trees and de-forestation that also incoporated the use of chinese lettering and symbols. He then created a website, www.forestproject.net, proceeds of which go back to the national park.

Charles Riva Collection

If you are in Brussels this weekend...

Galerie Impaire

A new exhibition is up at the Galerie Impaire, the galerie started in association with the Center for Creative Growth in Oakland, CA. The 2-person show includes work by Donald Mitchell, an artist at Creative Growth paired with a contemporary artist, David West.

Mitchell makes wonderful drawings that present various little faces and figures in various floating formations. The forms look re repetitive but in fact they are always slightly differentiated and never repeated. They work is very graphic and a major stretch of an analogy could be made to Jean Dubuffet. The drawings are rendered in a frenetic manner, often overlaid with watercolors or acrylic paint, though most are black and white. David West's work is slightly varied-figurative imagery mixed with landscapes-mostly paintings, very colorful. Make sure to look at the wonderful store attached to the gallery space full of little treasures made by Creative growth artists. 47, rue Lancry 75010. galerieimpaire.fr

Eileen Quinlan

An exhibition of photographs by New York artist Eileen Quinlan is now on view at Sutton Lane Gallery, 6, rue de Braque. www.suttonlane.com
A small show of nine photographs, all but one of which is from her body of work that is developed out a unique, self-made system that uses mirrors, smoke, fabric and lighting to create an abstract, of the moment image. She doesn't manipulate the photographs post production, but achieves quite interesting and complex imagery that looks very painterly. It is impossible to know what you are looking at without any references to the "real world," which makes you appreciate her creative methods even more.

Maison Rouge

"Mexico:Expected/Unexpected. The collection of Isabel and Agustin Coppel," is on view now at the Maison Rouge. The exhibition is a small selection of this vast contemporary art collection, and consists of some interesting pieces by contemporary artists from Latin America including Jorge Mendez Blake, Pablo Reyes,Maruch Sàntis Gomez and Miguel Calderon, while also highlighting some artists from a generation earlier including Gabriel Orozco, a few great films by Ana Mendieta, strange paintings by Francis Alys, and works by Helio Oticica. There is also work by US artists John Baldessari, Pae White, Gordon Matta Clark and Ed Ruscha. Well, this is just a selection. It is a nice exhibition of good work by leading artists--nothing beyond this, but that is fine. The Coppel's are great collectors and this gives us a chance to see that. The real treat here is to see some good work by Mexican and South American based artists who are not often shown in Paris. Maison Rouge, 10, boulevard bastille, 75012 www.lamaisonrouge.org

A few exhibitions...

If you are out and about in the Marais, a few recommended exhibitions to see:
Marcel Broodthaers-Sutton Lane Gallery, 6, rue de Braque: A beautiful, small exhibition that includes 8 plastic cast plaques dating between 1968-1970, from his "Industrial Poems" series, and a small sculpture titled Pools, form 1966. Provides a small glimpse into this diverse, interesting Belgian artist.

Tobias Rehberger "I spent a lot of money on booze, birds and fast cars. The rest I just squandered."-Galerie Husssenot, 5bis, rue Haudriettes. If you like lighting design, you'll like this exhibition. Rehberger, a German artist whose work always crosses the divide between art-design-craft-and DIY, has hung about 40-50 light fixtures in this great, lofty space. Some are made from flat strips of plastic-in various colors and semi-translucent, some take colored Velcro looped around a long neon tube, and others are made from colorful strips of Velcro shaped into loose, twisting forms with a neon tube running through it.

Janaina Tschape-"Dragoons," Galerie Xippas. This exhibition by Brazilian/NYC based artist Janaina includes photographs and a new video taken from a recent residency in Arizona, as well as some drawings and a painting that have a very organic/oceanic quality about them. Tschape is better known as a photographer having started with performance, she often inserts herself in the photographs wearing a self-made costume that might include angel’s wings, latex bubbles or other Matthew Barney-esque accoutrement. The results are very fantasy/romantic/surreal...intriguing. You always have a sense of wanting to know more.

Le 104

Paris keeps pushing right….right bank that is. Moving out from the central core that nestles both sides of the river (the Marais and St. Germain specifically), the 19th arrondissement is now the go-to destination for cutting edge culture. It’s been happening slowly over the last few years thanks to such gallery spaces as Jocelyn Wolff, Cosmic Galerie, and Castillo Corrales… But with the grand ouverture of Le 104, we can safely say that this area is solidly on the map. Awhile-back Avenue Louise Weiss in the 13th made an attempt to open up the Paris gallery scene, but it never had an anchor and was just too far off the map. The 19th makes sense. It’s really not a far leap from the Marais, especially with the Velib, and the cementing structure of Le 104 is not going anywhere anytime soon.

Spanning 39,000 m2, which is like 450,000 square feet, Le 104 will serve as artist residency, performance space, arts and education center for children, and will host a series of events and is open every day of the week. Come spring 2009 there will be a café and bookstore. It intends to a meeting place for the public and contemporary culture—a realm often thought elitist by many will now have a chance to connect with new people and new contexts. It’s exciting and I hope it succeeds. 104, rue Aubervilliers. 75019 www.104.fr

Indian Focus

On view through September 30 at the Espace Claude Berri, is a small exhibition of five contemporary artists from India. The work comes from Berri's (French film producer/director/art collector), vast private collection. Subodh Gupta and Rina Banjeree are two of the better known artists in the show, both represented by interesting wall sculpture and paintings; but the highlight of the show is Hema Upadhyay, a young artist who lives in Bombay (otherwise known as Mumbai). She has created a vast floor sculpture titled, "Dream a wish, wish a dream," which looks like a replica of the "suburbs" or really, slums that are scattered around many large cities in India and other developing countries. A Brazilian favela could also be referenced. Undulating hills of tiny houses fashioned out of painted corrugated metal are placed one next to the other in a horror vacui of modern day urban decay. But the piece is also beautiful--the colors and details are incredible and it elicits that fascination-shock value that one can perhaps feel upon viewing images of these neighborhoods. It's certainly also a reminder of the failure of urban planning for the poor and the unhealthy conditions where far too many of the world's population are still living. www.espace-claudeberri.com

John Armleder: Jacques Garcia

A unique, collaborative project between John Armleder and Jacques Garcia is on view at the Centre Cultural de Suisse. Armleder, is a contemporary artist based in Switzerland, who applies conceptual methods to his large-scale installations. For Armleder, the artwork can be finished conceptually before ever being produced. Jacques Garcia is one of the top interior designers in Paris, working on such projects as the Hotel Costes and Laduree in Paris, and has private clients including the Sultan of Brunei.

In this installation, Armleder takes his conceptual practice one step further by inviting Garcia to completely decorate the interiors in the upper floors of the institution. For Armleder this is a conceptual study into Ornamentation. Garcia constructs a dining room, salon and bedroom using elements of ornamentation and design ranging from Orientalism, neo-gothic, minimalism and ancient Egypt. The result is a surreal walk into a another universe- one fears of the reality of this existing in a serious manner somewhere in the upper east side of Manhattan or in along the outer reaches of the 16th in Paris. It’s gluttony revisited from the tiger rug that still has it’s head on, Helmut Newton photographs, a big, sumptuous bed (which we are told not to lie before we enter the space), and decorative objects all around. Visitors are invited to sit in the chairs and read the selection of art books and auction catalogs that are scattered around. As the press release states, “ Armleder uses the signature style of Garcia like a ready-made, nothing that it is “the observer who makes the work,” while Garcia responds with a mirror note saying it is “the client who makes the décor.”

Centre Culturel de Suisse, 32 et 38, rue des Francs-Bourgeois, www.ccsparis.com

Peter Doig

Peter Doig at the Musee d’Art Moderne. The exhibition is composed of nearly eighty paintings + drawings, spanning the late 1980s-2008, basically the beginning of his career until present day. Recently the Musee d’Art Moderne has been surprising with some interesting shows but I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect when I went on Sunday to see the exhibition. I liked the few Doig paintings I had seen prior, but you never know when they are all lumped together. In fact, the exhibition is intriguing and engaging and well worth a visit.

The work is installed more-or-less chronologically because for Doing, his work very much represents place-more to the point-the place where he is currently residing. Born in Scotland, raised in Canada, grad school in London and since 2002 living in Trinidad. He is very much taken with man’s relationship to nature. Representations of solitary man in the landscape make frequent appearances whether they stand by a lake, sit in a canoe, or poke through the forest. I don’t know his technique (although most paintings are oil on canvas), but the paintings have a blurred, layered quality—like he is doing a type of rubbing or transfer. It gives the paintings, especially the very isolated, almost haunting images, heightend effect. Though I think it is super cool he moved to Trinidad, for whatever reasons he did, I have to say that I think his later works, those that have been made on the island, go a bit to far in their Gauguin-esque aesthetic, from imagery to color scheme.

Peter Doig, 30 May-September 7, 2008. www.mam.paris.fr

Two days in Basel-Too much Champagne

I should have written this over a few days, but here it is, all at once:

On a last minute whim I decided to make the pilgrimage to the annual European art fair, Art Basel, in the very Swiss-German town of Basel. It was gray, gray, gray when I arrived and despite the charming Rhine River and chalet style buildings, the town itself didn’t impress me much. I have witnessed the glitz and glam of the Miami version of Art Basel (they are like sister fairs-same company-different vibes) and each fair clearly takes on its city’s attitude. Whereas Miami can only be Miami, (don’t really need to elaborate there), it was clear that Basel retains its sophisticated, old school European charm. A more understated approach to showing your wealth, as it were.

Upon entering the vast convention center that holds the main fair, as well as Art Unlimited and Statements, I grabbed the map and looked at the young intern behind the help desk and said, “I am scared.” The buzz and busy-ness of the place, and the sheer vastness of what I was stepping into somehow instilled an initial sense of being overwhelmed. I was soon at peace when I ran into the champagne cart that was regularly flowing through the fair, and by the greetings of old NYC friends. A petite coupe later I had taken on the mouse-in-labyrinth feel of wandering aimlessly, stumbling upon great finds like the Dieter Roth Paper Cut-outs from 1969-1973, at Carolina Nitsch, and the laugh-out-loud, (positive or negatively) massive Takashi Murakami. There seemed to be a good deal of the series of Joseph Albers paintings, “Homage to the Square” and each time I felt they looked great. Among all the chaos and glam, these classic works seemed as fresh as ever. Art Unlimited seemed rather unimpressive. I preferred the smaller sections of Artists Editions and Artists Records. True finds could be had, and could also fit in my suitcase, let alone my apartment. Clearly, larger-is-better motto still holds dear. Another highlight was the book signing by Patti Smith-which included a few acoustic songs.

The next day I made it over to Design Miami/Basel- a recent addition to the Basel Fair. Housed in what appeared to be an old bomb shelter, all cement with a huge central domed ceiling, this was a welcomed breath of fresh air after the carpeted convention feel of the main fair. I was most pleased to see a nice representation of Shelia Hicks work, in two different booths, but sadly disappointed by the enormity of her prices. She deserves it, but I still want one! I loved Reform Gallery, based in Los Angeles, which had a beautiful tapestry by Jim Bissler, and the Hugo Franca tables from R20th Century in NYC.

Moving on: The Beyler Foundation has been on my list to visit since my first days in college studying Art History, so it was a delight to take the quaint number 6 tram outside of the city to visit. This renowned collection is now housed in a beautiful Renzo Piano building that truly blends in with its surroundings. On view was a concise selection of the collection including Bonnard, Picasso, Riviere, Bacon, Giacometti, and a large show titled “Paris-New York: The work of Fernand Leger,” which I breezed through, not really being a big fan. Downstairs was a large wall mural by Sarah Morris titled “Black Beetle,” a few other paintings, the Capital Prints, and two of her films, “Midtown,” and “Capital.” Never entirely convinced about her work, I enjoyed getting a sort of overview of her practice.

Finally I checked out Volta, the more “emerging” or “younger” galleries. Located in a mini warehouse set literally next to the docks where I had as much fun watching the large cranes move colorful shipping containers as I did with some of the art work. I was happy to see a few good Parisian galleries and was encouraged by a few people remarking that they see the Paris art scene developing and expanding beyond it’s cliquey world of post modern, theory laden, non-aesthetic conceptual framework. Hurrah. Anyways, personal highlights here were Arraita + Beer in Berlin, www.arratiabeer.com, Josee Bienvenue, http://joseebienvenugallery.com, and Basim Magdy’s work at Newman Popishevelli,www.npgallery.com.

I clearly did not even make a major dent in all of the things to see. I missed two fairs, Scope + Balatina, although I can’t say I am upset about it, but do regret not seeing the Kunstmuseum-although I’ll hope to get back at another time. Otherwise it was champagne at the Kunsthalle bar and sneak peaks at the French Open. See images below.

Roe Ethridge

On view at Sutton Lane Gallery, www.suttonlane.com, 6, rue de Braque, is an exhibition of photographs by Roe Ethridge. The show presents a selection of mostly c-prints, produced between 2006-2008, about ten images in total. For the last eight-ten years Etheridge, an American artist, has been exhibiting with some frequency and his images always seem to be a pleasure to look at. He has a great eye and captures that perfect, soft, sometimes fleeting moment, as with his landscape images, and in his portraits seems to pull out the best-sometimes weirdest- features of his model. In the Sutton Lane show he includes a 50 x 40” ink-jet print of the Moon. Perhaps a rather romantic if not mundane object for a professional photographer, yet the image is beautiful and attractive. He pulls it off with grace. The best photograph in the show could be “Oysters,” 2008, which is in the office space next door to the gallery. A plate of six oysters, glistening and gleaming in their shells is at once erotic and simply poetic. The exhibition is on view through June 28th.

DVD release

Last night at the Pompidou Center there was reception for the release of a Dvd compilation of films by the artist Mounir Fatmi. www.mounirfatmi.com Ttitled "Tete Dur" or "Hard Head," the DVD includes a selection of eight videos produced and created between 1999 and 2008. Political, provocative, spiritual and poetic, these complex works bring to light the artist's ambiguities, doubts, fears and desires relating to our world's current events. Using playful language inspired by islamic art, the Koran and European authors such as Artaud and Montesquieu, his videos toy with contextual relationships by blurring the notions of a here and there. Check it out at the Librarie Flammarion at the Centre Pompidou.

ANNE +

ANNE+ Art Projects is an impressive, sleek new contemporary exhibition space located in the off-the-beaten path of Ivry-Sur-Seine. The first of its exhibitions, titled “A Listening Room,” opened last night. Curated by Manuel Cirauqui, “A Listening Room,” is a group show that deals with issue of sound and sound-based sculpture and installation. As the press release states, the exhibition “is based on a principle of reflexivity: as much as a space to listen, it is a space that listens.” Sound here is used as a raw material or an object that is used in creating the work on view. At the opening, a performance by Frank Leibovici titled “A mini opera for non-musicians,” presented a group of untrained, non-professionals (a call for a singers was sent around by email), singing a cappella, text from the 2003 Colin Powell speech to the UN for going to war with Iraq. Other artists include, Inigo Cabo, Matthieu Clainchard, Tal Hadad, Bettina Samson, Vittorio Santoro and Eric Stephany. www.anneplus.com.

Traces du Sacré

Traces du Sacré is the mega, multi-disciplinary exhibition that opened on May 7th at the Pompidou Center, www.centrepompidou.fr. Curated by Jean de Loisy and Angela Lampe, this grand endeavor brings together over 350 works of art by nearly 200 artists beginning from the 19th century up to present day and as diverse as Casper David Friedrich, Hilma Auf de Klimt, Malevich, William Burroughs, Barnett Newman, Mounir Fatmi and Maurizo Cattelan. The exhibition is arranged thematically under such subtitles as “Apocalypses,” “Nostalgia of the Infinite,” “Doors of Perception,” and “Resonances of the Archaic.”

Throughout the ages there have always been connections/influences between art, religion, spirituality, philosophy, but this became less and less so throughout the 20th century as the world modernized and globalized. As the press release states, “The goal of the exhibition is thus to explore the significance of the survival of such questioning throughout the twentieth century, and to show that it continues to fuel the invention of contemporary artistic forms, and as such represents an essential key to the understanding of modern art.
” The one easy critique to make is that the curators took liberty with the subject matter, stretching interpretations to include work that doesn’t really fit into the context, the most obvious of which, in my opinion was the inclusion of the Hans Namuth films of Pollack doing his drip paintings. But it is a rich and intriguing exhibition and be sure to allow yourself a good couple of hours to make it through.