A dive into the Parisian art world, part 4

At the moment people are queuing to Grand Palais to see a major Edward Hopper exhibition about an American illustrator who became an artist, but to me far more impressive artists are Mircea Cantor and Adel Abdessemed now showing in Centre Pompidou until January 7th 2013.

A picture from Mircea Cantor´s video Sic Transit Gloria Mundi, 2012.

Mircea Cantor, the winner of Prix Marcel Duchamp 2011, adds poetical tradition and beauty to everything he does. 

A detail of Adel Abdessemed´s Décor, 2011-12. 

Photo@Paula Hietaranta

I am innocent, says the title of Adel Abdessemed´s exhibition and means that we all are quilty. In the cruelty of our world he shows that we are the world and the history, our´s are the barbed wire of Quantanamo, the suffering Christ and the boats of illegal immigrants.

http://www.centrepompidou.fr/

A dive into the Parisian art world, part 3

Paris is a dream city to everybody interested in photography. Here are my favorite photo exhibitions at the moment:

Claude Nori, editeur et photographe with his pictures full of love and joy in Maison Européenne de la Photographie until November 4th.

http://www.mep-fr.org/

Isabelle, Biarritz, 1995, © Claude Nori

 

&

wonderful, wonderful Martine Franck, the wife of Henri Cartier-Bresson and a Magnum photographer, who died in August, in Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson.

http://www.henricartierbresson.org/

Shechen Monastery. Tulku Khentrul Lodro Rabsel 

(12 years old) with his tutor Lhagyel, 1

996 © Martine Franck / Magnum Photos

& 

legendary Manuel Álvarez Bravo, photographe aux aguets (1902-2002) in Jeu de Paume until January 20th 2013.

www.jeudepaume.org/

Manuel Álvarez Bravo: Obrero en huelga, asesinado 

(Ouvrier en grève, assassiné), 1934.

 

A dive into the Parisian art world, part 2: The Finns are here!

Is the essence of good art to make you see the world and your own heart differently?

If you agree, go to see the new exhibitions of two prominent Finnish artists.

Kim Simonsson: Cameleon, 2012. Ceramic, car paint and panel of wood.

It is a common knowledge that we Finns are crazy. And that many Finnish artists are super-talented-crazy with the weird, eye-opening sense of humour.

One of them is ceramic sculptor Kim Simonsson now showing his new works in Paris.

I am dumbstruck in front of his wonderful world, so let´s him speak for himself.

That´s how he describes his works on the web page of Nancy Margolis Gallery:

“I made my first sculpture out of snow in the backyard of my childhood home! I realized then that I can capture the sensitivity of movement through my hands. Ever since I have thought of myself as a sculptor who makes figures by hand. Finding the perfect movement has become the essence in my works.

I combine traditional ceramic art with popular cultural phenomenon in large ceramic sculptures. For me the unusual is interesting. Therefore I create my own strange world of characters that comment on everyday life and its weirdness.

The subject matters are usually children, animals or hybrids. One important detail in my sculptures is the eyes are made out of glass; they give the figures a life like appearance.

Authority in its many forms fascinate me and in my work I want to reverse the common beliefs by making the weak powerful. ”

Kim Simonsson in Galerie Favardin & de Verneuil, 29, rue Duret, 75116 Paris, until November 10th.

www.favardin-verneuil.com/en_cours_en.html

www.kimsimonsson.com

A different way of seeing things you can experience with artisan-artist Anu Tuominen, winner of prestigious Ars Fennica Prize 2003.

She works with the sense of quiet, playful humour arranging everyday objects to the contact with each other and giving new meanings to the words, sometimes with yarn, carving and crocheting. 

Anu Tuominen: Fleurs de Sel, 2010. Salt shakers and crocheted small coasters.

Anu´s exhibition Nectar de couleurs is open until the end of October in Johanna Gullichsen´s textile design shop, 74, Rue du Cherche-Midi, 75006 Paris.

www.anutuominen.fi

www.johannagullichsen.com

A dive into the Parisian art world, part 1

Life is a Killer. A golden statement 
by poet-artist John Giorno in Palais de Tokyo.

Photos © Paula Hietaranta

Sorry! Your blogger from Helsinki has been silent for a while, because she has been living in Paris for three weeks.

So here come my impressions of the Parisian art scene. Challenging, yes. Interesting, definitely. But sometimes it is like an amusement park, a mixture of danger and cotton candy, which makes you feel happy and dizzy.

Palais de Tokyo presents a lot of works by interesting artists under the theme Saison 2 Imaginez l´imaginaire. It is about art in construction, and really - the whole museum seems to be a construction site.

Fabrice Hyber, Das Wunderkind of the French art world, shows there Raw Materials – well, all kind of things starting from his early student lipstick works to rotting vegetables and his famous green men. 

Le mur escalier (2012), the turning staircase by Huber, 

is happily tested by young and even older visitors.

http://www.palaisdetokyo.com/

Fashion is an important part of French culture and a firm statement in the daily life.

Musée d´Orsay shows L'impressionnisme et la mode, a huge collection of famous paintings, museum piece dresses and accessories. Go there to see the art of fashion and the fashion as an art.

http://www.musee-orsay.fr/fr/accueil.html

Dress by Phoebe Philo, laser cut and stitched toile, 

Chloé A/W 2006-07 collection.

More fashion you see in Palais de Tokyo where Chloé. Attitudes is ”a celebration of the Maison’s 60-year contribution to fashion culture.” 

It tells the history of fashion house with it´s famous designers and shows a big amount of the original pieces for example by Karl Lagerfeld who was a in-house designer some decades ago.

  

That is enough for today, more to come!