Opposite these three figures, who have their eyes closed, in the other part of the gallery, a portrait of a young girl, also cast in bronze, is positioned in the centre of the room. It is suspended from the ceiling, and a hand, placed in front of the mouth, the index finger raised, invites silence. These four sculptures bear the names of the young girls of whom they are the portrait (Julia, Laura, Wilsis, Minna) but the facial features have been so elongated as to become unrecognisable, thus taking on a universal dimension.
See the press release
Opposite these three figures, who have their eyes closed, in the other part of the gallery, a portrait of a young girl, also cast in bronze, is positioned in the centre of the room. It is suspended from the ceiling, and a hand, placed in front of the mouth, the index finger raised, invites silence. These four sculptures bear the names of the young girls of whom they are the portrait (Julia, Laura, Wilsis, Minna) but the facial features have been so elongated as to become unrecognisable, thus taking on a universal dimension.
Jaume Plensa, a sculptor and artist born in 1955 in Barcelona, has exhibited this year in a number of institutions, such as the MACBA in Barcelona, the Moscow Museum of Modern Art, the Beelden Aan Zee Museum in the Netherlands and the City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia. A number of his sculptures have recently been installed in public spaces: Plaza Colon in Madrid, the Musée de Beaux-Arts in Caen, the Montserrat monastery near Barcelona, the Rockefeller Center, New York and soon in the courtyard of the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg.
The set of works from the mid-70s presented in the Salon belong to this family of Übermalungen. They are photographs, mounted on wood or aluminium, which have been covered in black paint by the artist: it is almost impossible to see anything of the underlying image. The new form sometimes inspires a title: Skull, Fruit, Heap, Panel, Apron…or Rainer lets the viewer come up with their own. These small black paintings are charged with an intense dramatic and emotional potential which evokes a sort of expressionist minimalism, the slogan of which could be “less is more”.
See the press release
The set of works from the mid-70s presented in the Salon belong to this family of Übermalungen. They are photographs, mounted on wood or aluminium, which have been covered in black paint by the artist: it is almost impossible to see anything of the underlying image. The new form sometimes inspires a title: Skull, Fruit, Heap, Panel, Apron…or Rainer lets the viewer come up with their own. These small black paintings are charged with an intense dramatic and emotional potential which evokes a sort of expressionist minimalism, the slogan of which could be “less is more”.
Galerie Lelong & Co. has regularly exhibited Arnulf Rainer in Paris since 1985. He was born in 1929 in Baden (Austria) and since the 1980s has enjoyed international recognition. 2019 is the year of the artist’s 90th birthday, and the Albertina, a major museum in Vienna, will present from 27 September to 26 January a selection of the artist’s most important works from its collections, while the Arnulf Rainer Museum in Baden is preparing an exhibition for the end of this year.
“Kiki Smith’s work oscillates between light and darkness, slipping from the peacefulness of domesticated nature to an untameable animality in order to enter the world of the night, that specific moment where pleasure and fear combine. At times, the artist speaks without taboo of the bestiality that lurks inside our humanity. She reveals our most unfathomable fears, which haunt the deepest reaches of our intimacy and that we strive to keep hidden.” It is with these perceptive words that Catherine de Brackelaere describes the work of the artist in the catalogue of the retrospective exhibition in her honour at the Centre de la gravure et de l’image imprimée, in La Louvière, Belgium (4 October 2019 – 23 February 2020).
See the press release
“Kiki Smith’s work oscillates between light and darkness, slipping from the peacefulness of domesticated nature to an untameable animality in order to enter the world of the night, that specific moment where pleasure and fear combine. At times, the artist speaks without taboo of the bestiality that lurks inside our humanity. She reveals our most unfathomable fears, which haunt the deepest reaches of our intimacy and that we strive to keep hidden.” It is with these perceptive words that Catherine de Brackelaere describes the work of the artist in the catalogue of the retrospective exhibition in her honour at the Centre de la gravure et de l’image imprimée, in La Louvière, Belgium (4 October 2019 – 23 February 2020).
Kiki Smith (born in 1954) is an American artist who lives and works in New York. A She has been the subject of a number of major European exhibitions (Haus der Kunst, Munich; Sara Hilden Museum, Finland; Musée du Belvédère, Vienna; Deste Foundation, Athens) and her work will be exhibited at the Musée cantonal des Beaux-Arts in Lausanne in October 2020.
Jannis Kounellis (1936-2017), who died suddenly two years ago, was one of the major protagonists of Arte Povera, a movement of radical artists that emerged in Italy in the 1960s. His work is exhibited in many major museums in Europe, Asia and America and is a reference for a new generation of artists. In recent years, Kounellis had exhibited many times in Europe – at La Monnaie de Paris in 2016—but also in Russia, Mexico and China, where each time he created spectacular works in situ. The Prada Foundation has dedicated a retrospective to his work, in Venice until 24 November 2019.
Jannis Kounellis (1936-2017), who died suddenly two years ago, was one of the major protagonists of Arte Povera, a movement of radical artists that emerged in Italy in the 1960s. His work is exhibited in many major museums in Europe, Asia and America and is a reference for a new generation of artists. In recent years, Kounellis had exhibited many times in Europe – at La Monnaie de Paris in 2016—but also in Russia, Mexico and China, where each time he created spectacular works in situ. The Prada Foundation has dedicated a retrospective to his work, in Venice until 24 November 2019.
Arnulf Rainer, born in Vienna in 1929, was a major protagonist of the Austrian avant-garde movement in the 1950s and 1960s. He is notably famous for covering images, a technique known as Übermalungen. In 2014, the Albertina Museum in Vienna dedicated a vast retrospective to his work and from 27 September 2019, a new exhibition will celebrate the artist’s 90th birthday in this museum.
Antoni Tàpies (1923-2012) is one of the major figures of 20th Century art. Over five decades, he created paintings, sculptures, assemblages and more than one thousand engravings and illustrations. Today, his works are exhibited in the world’s most prestigious museums (MoMA, Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum…).
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