One of our quickies for this week in Paris… Appeared last October on the always great independent Belgian comic house FRMK (or Frémok), “Le fils du roi”, Éric Lambé’s latest comic did not only got a warm critic welcome but it now even has its own exhibition @ Galerie Martel.
Le fils du Roi – bic bleu et noire sur carton (image via Galerie Martel)
10 years in the making “the King’s son” is a black&blue-ballpen on white card piece of art, conceived more as a book of images than a comic. A “world book” as described by the author himself which brings us into Éric’s own universe and unconscious state of mind, a world that took many years to come to life as he couldn’t find the appropriate medium nor the tools to give that depth of light and freedom of expression he was after.
LE FILS DU ROI – à la galerie Martel (Vernissage – photo via FREMOK FB)
The exhibition will run until February 23d, and it’s a great occasion to discover the works of this Belgian master whose works can be seen on FRMK’s website. A must-visit, and as an extra down below, the first part of a French interview from his past exhibition @ Brüsel.
There are plenty of bad guys in society. They come in the form of the individual, the collective, even a construct or an action…the bad guy wears numerous hats. Of course, it sometimes depends on what side of the wall you’re on as to whether he is a hero or villain…or fellow inmate.
Because the wall that universally marks you out as the bad guy, as an enemy of the public, is the prison wall.
Parisian gallery Magda Danysz and Barbara Polla have taken on the controversy that surrounds the notion of imprisonment with the collective exhibition “Ennemi public”, raising questions about creativity in prison: What does the prisoner dream about? How does he express himself in confinement? What becomes of the man locked in his little box?
Zhang Dali, AK-47, 80×100 cm, 2010, courtesy galerie Magda Danysz
The Charlot Gallery, established two years ago, is a white and narrow space located on two floors in the third arrondissement of Paris. The gallery custom for every new exhibition is to showcase two artists: one who works with traditional techniques such as painting and drawing, and one who will rather work with new technologies.
To start the year the gallery invited the French painter Dominique Albertelli at street level, and the Russian artist Misha Margolis to occupy the basement space with his piece ‘La Racine’ (‘The Root’). This amazing installation work consists in an actual three-meter-long tree root fixed to the ceiling of the room. From it hang five white screens and five squares of polarizing films through which, individually held, the images on the screens magically appear.
Misha Margolis, ‘La Racine’, 2012 (detail), image courtesy of the Charlot Gallery
On each screen a different animation is shown: they are simple and poetic, and depict an ideal of rural and family life. Two to three generations of persons from the same family are shown in repetitive everyday doings under a bright blue sky. Altogether the room is quite dark and the atmosphere is eerie for you can hear the mixed sounds of the looping animations like a melody of birds singing and doors creaking. Continue reading Misha Margolis and Dominique Albertelli @ Charlot Gallery review
One of the big names in the French design industry passed away last year, a big loss especially considering Arnaud Mercier was one of the youngest and most successful interaction designers from the hexagon.
Known for his meticulous interactive design systems, it is little known that Arnaud was a developer with a degree in computer science. His belief was that in order to design, one must intrinsically understand and master the medium before it can truly be explored, reinvented and used as a means of expression.
Having worked with some of the most important brands on the planet Mercier became one of the most prolific designers over the past few years and really inspired many people with some of his latest website creations like the cultural mag “Slash” or Ora-ïto’s website. “This is not a website” will try to act as a retrospective but also as an exploration of all those ideas that guided him throughout his life, and you’ll be able to visit it until December 7th. More info this way.
Manuel Álvarez Bravo is one of the missing myths in the history of photography, often analyzed from the condescending occidental point of view he merits and deserves new analyses…
And Jeu de Paume’s new exhibition is willing to take a fresh new look into his photography, that of the Mexican culture in the 20th century, that of its society and the profound transformations this country has experienced in over 8 decades… from the revolution of the 1910s to the 90s, from the emergence of the postrevolutionary & cosmopolitan culture to the digital age.
With deep local & popular Mexican roots but always with a modern eye his works are individual and autonomous pieces of poetry. Very influenced by cinema his photographic series could be understood as a research work, always willing to conceive photography as an art filled with questions around the image vs language relationship.
An exhibition which is willing to give a new image to the artist by presenting a selection of his most well-known images & also some new material (Polaroids & experimental films) from the 60s. A look into some unknown aspects of his photography which funnily enough are extremely pertinent and contemporary nowadays.
Structured around 8 themes we’ll get an in-depth look through 152 prints and five 8mm and super-8 film montages as well as many documents from the personal archives of the photographer which will allow the viewer to understand the facets of his professional life.
