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Bétonsalon: Insolubles Solides

I went to a bunch of openings on the Rue Louise Weiss last Saturday, where I came upon a nice small show of artist books by the environmental artist Richard Long at the Christophe Daviet-Thery gallery. While documentation can be nice, the best show of actual work I saw that night was at Bétonsalon. I liked a small, very poetic print imprisoned in a box made of sandblasted, semi-transparent glass by Aurélian Mole (Noorderlicht, 2008). My favorite piece was Tapis de Poussière (Dust Rug) by Frédéric Pradeau. The artist wove a large grey floor rug out of dust, presumable the kind recuperated from vacuum cleaners. The inversion of the functional object (rug) and what it’s meant to hide (the dust usually swept under the rug) was humorous and asked pointed questions about what kinds of materials we associate with value and invest in. By spending so much time with a material so base (weaving is after all, a meticulous art – travail de moine- par excellence), Pradeau created a form for something that has no form of it’s own. Dust normally callously coats its host sites, with the slow and unwavering determination: here it is collected rather than rinsed away.

Mimmo Jodice at Karsten Greve

I didn’t much care for the b&w images of dilapidated ruins, presented against starkly lit, ambiguously defined, backgrounds. The juxtaposition of the most static of art historical references with a partially blurred image that plays up the camera’s movement can be interesting, but it’s hard for any photos of ruins not to become cliché. On the other hand, the the last corner room full of photos of plants and vines was crackling with energy and had some fantastic pieces. Mimmo Jodice ‘Les Parcours de la Mémoire’ Nov 13 – Jan 3, 2009

James Casebere at Galerie Templon

What a great show! I’d never seen the artist’s large scale photos before and I was entranced by the subtle plays of light on surfaces of simple, unadorned, completely invented spaces. The scenes depicted are simple yet profoundly universal (the moment light illuminates a space in a particular way- think chiaroscuro where the subject is the space at hand). The fact that the places depicted aren’t technically “real” gives an underlying tension to the images and pushes the viewer to approach the works from multiple points of view (I began looking at the Flooded Cells series of “prison cell” images, thinking they were taken in sewers, with all of the connotations that that implies…). At Galerie Templon (30 r. Beaubourg, Paris 3e) untill December 31st.

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!

Almine Rech Gallery

I liked the “weeping hydrant”, 2008 by Mark Handforth but wasn’t particularly impressed by his other work. On the other hand, the gallery pulled out a painting by Daniel Lergon in the middle of the show to show to some collector and it was great! A flat “painting” that looks like it’s on a sheet of metal, the “canvas” is actually a reflective fabric and with lacquer poured over part of the surface, causing it to subtly reflect oncoming light differently, depending on where the viewer is standing.

Bharti Kher and Glenn Ligon

Liked:

Bharti Kher’s sculpture, “Sing to them what will listen,” 2008. The piece entails a gilded bowl of rice resting atop a stone pillar. The bowl is filled with grains of rice on which the artist has written words (mostly in english)- the effect is entrancing- I was drawn to the precision with which the words are written; the sheer amount of meticulous labour that went into the piece, as well as the way in which the work reversed our habitual ways of valuing various materials- grains of rice that could have blown away in the wind or been consumed without a second thought were suddenly rendered precious. (The other “Bindi works” she’s showing are less exciting) Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin until January 10.

Glenn Ligon’s installation Figure/Paysage/Marine at Yvon Lambert was pretty strong (on the other hand, the other artist showing there now is rather terrible)…

Calzolari at Claudine Papillon

There’s a really good group show at the Claudine Papillon gallery- my favorite piece was “Studio by Pier Paolo Calzolari from 1985 created from a lead sheet, nails and salt that rusted the nails over time.

Bertrand Planes at Galerie Griesmar & Tamer

The broom is kind of a one liner but I like the power cords (though I want more of them; a whole room full!) and especially, Life Clock, 2007, a clock that’s been slowed down so that each “hour long” rotation actually takes 84 years. The clock numbers are changed to each represent one year. The show is up until December 20th.

Italian Futurism in Paris (Pompidou Center)

Le Futurisme à Paris, Centre Pompidou, up until January 29th

Liked:

The vast quantity of original texts and manifestos. The works (especially in the “Influence of Futurism on Russia” room (althouth the relevance of said room to “Futurism in Paris” is dubious)

Questioned:

The narrative arc of the show (Futurism and Cubism were two completely different schools of thought that eventually reconciled and melded together to form Orphism)

Disliked:

Only one sound installation? Very little photographic documentation of the key moments/artists involved in the movement