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55e Salon de Montrouge

I checked out this yearly emerging artists show in the suburbs and found work that sparked my curiosity, some clever one liners, and a lot of work that I was highly ambivalent about. The jury seems to privilege works that includes sexual innuendo or dead stuffed animals (note to self for my app. for next year…), though it is hard to generalize since there was quite a range of artists selected.

I liked Nicolas Durand’s installation, in which it wasn’t clear where the work (which included metal pipes lining the wall) began and where it ended. The show’s winner, Aymeric Ebrard showed an installation that consisted of found objects, fabricated elements, and prints. I wasn’t crazy about the marché aux puces stuff but I liked the golden key, and the last print. The key was literally multiplied upon itself- the object’s reflection was given physical form and attached to the object. When displayed the new object forced the viewer to do a double take upon realizing that the key’s supposed reflection was an actual object. Kirill Ukolov’s Sans Titre, 2010 plastic molds of an antique bust were a little repetitive of work I’ve seen elsewhere, but they were really really well displayed on white pedestals of varying sixes.

Slick @ 104

Wow, I was blown away by how much I preferred Slick to the two other art fairs this weekend- not only were the works more interesting, but the who event was much less pretentious, gallerists were much more approachable and willing to discuss the work they were showing.

Galerie Claudine Papillon had a nice piece, Incrustation, 2008, by Gaelle Chotard

I liked the minimalist wire loops by Martin Caminiti shown in the corner of Galerie Martagon’s space (the things are impossible to photograph by at once clean and very poetic). Also Régis-R’s Kalishnakov from recuperated plastic at Galerie W was good (the rest of his stuff was a bit too poppy). Thomas Monin’s work at Galerie Barnoud was ok but in conversation, the gallerist showed me a catalogue of his previous work, which was great- especially the taxidermied dalmation-man and the installation of caramic tiles with bull horns! Linda Sanchez’ installation out of actual spider webs on fishing line at Galerie Bertrand Grimont was pretty incredible- to think that I complain about how ceramics are extremely breakable…

Show Off & Half of FIAC

So I think last year’s shows were better- while it’s always hit or miss at these things, I honestly really liked a few pieces from last year’s FIAC (Damien Hirst’s Fly Canvas, Subodh Gupta’s bronze potatoes in a plastic bag, Penone’s cast (pumpkin?) vines…), this year’s edition had a few pieces I liked but nothing that I’m quite as excited about.

At the FIAC, I liked Christina Iglesias’ Untitles, 2007, Seriography over Stainless Steel

and Sigalit Landau’s Barbed Salt Lamps from 2007 (barbed wire soaked in dead sea salt).

At Show Off, I liked some flat minimalist wall hangings created from bird feathers by Jodie Carey (although the ones with Bones and overly Baroque motifs were a bit much) and while I didn’t like the photos/posters by Lucie Duval, I think I would like the original sculptures that the 2d works depict, if I saw them in person (“clothing” created out of gloves sewn together). Thomas Tronel-Gauthier’s sculptures at Riff Art Projects were great- I think we’re soul mates!

Jeune Création 08

Liked:

Videos by Sarah Jan Gorlitz + Wojciech Olejnik and Patrick Coeuru

Contreplaque fossile, by Guillaume Linar-Osorio

Installations by Mehmet Ali Uysal

Jeune Création