Valérie Belin, L'incertaine beauté du monde, a retrospective, MUba Tourcoing, France

 

Front view of the Museum MUba in the city of Tourcoing, north of France

Inside view of the exhibition

Valérie Belin (born 1964) is a French artist, a photographer. A retrospective of her work, from the 90's to her most actual Series of photography, is presented by the MUba, Museum of Beaux Arts Eugène Leroy in the city of Tourcoing, North of France. Valerie Belin is one of the curators of this exhibition. Her work is largely exhibited worldwide and presented in many collections of National Museums like the Centre Pompidou in Paris, the MoMA in New York or the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

Even I rarely ever seen any exhibition from this artist, the first photography of Valérie Belin I saw was during a visit in the Big Apple, especially to the MoMA, in 2010.

Photography of Valérie Belin exhibited in the MoMA (2010)

I remember this woman's portrait, close to perfection in search of a balance between human and object. 

I wanted to know more about this artist and that exhibition to the MUba is perfect to dive into her world made of human's portrait and reflexion about materiality of our actual world.

Here is some pictures to dive into her world of photography

(all photos by the author)

Same photo as above from the Série Mannequins, 2003 

From the Série Modern Royals, 2020

From the Série Chips, 2004

From the Série Voitures , 1998

Maybe we can notice with this two Series Chips and Voitures some Pop Art references to Andy Wahrol with his Iconic Campbell Soup and Car Crash. 

From the Série Métisses II, 2008

General view and a singular pink observer.

From the Série Transsexuels, 2001

From the Serie Mariées Marocaines, 2000

One of her first Serie, Bodybuilders I, 1999

Inside the exhibition you can watch a very interesting video showing Valérie Belin talking about her working process and photography.

Here is some words of the artist that I noticed and can really give you some details about her philosophy of art:

"The models are disincarnated"

"I don't photograph people but some existences"

"Is photography an art with a female dimension ?"

"We all have a part of male and female"

 You can read more informations on her website with a podcast (in French) about this exhibition.

Behind the surface of Valérie Belin's photography full of details and surgical precision there's a fascinating way of approaching actual art, maybe like a mirror of our humanity ?

From the Serie Black-Eyed Susan I, 2010

The exhibition is open til August 27th.

Thanks for your visit on my blog,

Enjoy and Share !

Vincent Delrue, artist.

Eugène Delacroix et François Rouan : peintures à la cire

Pour cet article j'ai décidé de réunir deux artistes français qui ont utilisé, ou utilise encore, la cire dans leur travail. Il s'agit d'Eugène Delacroix (1798-1863) et de François Rouan (1943-).

Comme j'ai déjà pu le mentionner dans mon article sur l'histoire de l'encaustique, Eugène Delacroix a eu recours à la peinture à la cire lors de la réalisation de ses oeuvres pour La Chapelle des Saints-Anges de l'église Saint Sulpice à Paris. La commande pour La Chapelle remonte à 1849 mais celle ci ne sera inaugurée que le 31 juillet 1861.

Il ne me manquait plus qu'à rencontrer l'oeuvre elle-même. C'est sous un ciel gris d'un timide mois de mai que j'ai pu me rendre pour une visite éclair de la Capitale. 

(Toutes photos de l'auteur)

L'église Saint Sulpice à Paris dans le 6ème arrondissement.

La Chapelle des Saints-Anges est la première chapelle à droite en entrant dans l'église qui compte pas moins de 19 chapelles au total. Eugène Delacroix réalisa trois oeuvres pour cette chapelle. Ces oeuvres ont été restaurées en 2016.

à gauche l'oeuvre monumentale La lutte de Jacob avec l'ange, huile et cire sur enduit, 751x485cm

La lutte de Jacob avec l'ange, détail

à droite Héliodore chassé du Temple, huile et cire sur enduit

et au plafond Saint Michel terrassant le dragon, huile sur toile marouflée

La Lutte de Jacob avec l'Ange, c'est Delacroix luttant avec sa peinture durant de nombreuses années dans cette Chapelle des Saints-Anges. Ces peintures ne seront inaugurées, avec un accueil très mitigé, qu'en 1861 soit deux ans avant la mort de l'artiste. La peinture est avant tout un engagement physique, un engagement total de l'artiste avec son oeuvre.

Pour cette visite éclair à Paris il me restait à rencontrer l'oeuvre d'un artiste qui expose rarement : il s'agit de François Rouan présenté à la galerie Templon du 23 mars au 13 mai. L'exposition Odalisques et Pavanes présente un ensemble d'oeuvres de 2009 à 2020.

Vues générales de la galerie

François Rouan, né à Montpellier en 1943, est associé au mouvement Supports/Surfaces dans les années 60. Son oeuvre peinte présente des grands formats constitués de tressage de bandes de toile colorées. Travail de la couleur, du rythme, variation autour des corps. Son oeuvre questionne, posant sans cesse un regard neuf sur la peinture avec plusieurs décennies de présence au niveau national et international. En 2017 le musée Fabre de Montpellier lui avait consacré une importante exposition intitulée Tressages 1966-2016. Une grande rétrospective de son oeuvre aura lieu en septembre 2024 au musée des Beaux Arts de Lyon.

Voici quelques photos prises à la galerie ainsi que quelques oeuvres. François Rouan utilise aussi bien l'huile que la peinture à la cire dans la réalisation de ses oeuvres. Extraits.

Odalisque Flandres X, 2010, peinture à la cire sur toiles tressées, 170x150 cm

Odalisque Flandres XII, 2010, peinture à la cire sur toiles tressées, 171x149 cm

Odalisque Flandres XII, détail

Pavane VI, 2018-2019, huile sur toiles tressées, 200x170 cm

Chambre Siena III, 2013-2015, huile sur toile, 300x200 cm

Arbre à loques II, 2020, peinture à la cire sur toiles tressées, 2020, 200x170 cm

Saxifrage n°II, 2020, peinture à la cire sur toiles tressées, 195x165 cm

Saxifrage n°II, détail

Merci de votre visite sur ce blog,

Enjoy and share !

Vincent Delrue

Isamu Noguchi Retrospective at the LaM

I made a beautiful discovery recently. This exhibition was so wonderful that I decided to share it with you for the 8th anniversary of my blog. 

Enjoy !

 

 

The LaM museum

Park around the museum

For the first time ever in France the LaM, Musée d’Art Moderne, d’art contemporain et d’art brut of Lille Métropole in the city of Villeneuve d’Ascq present the first retrospective of the American artist Isamu Noguchi (1904-1988).

All along the exhibition I felt surounded by a world of poetry with a perfect balance between occidental and oriental references. 

Here are some photos of the exhibition Isamu Noguchi, Sculpter le Monde to enter the world of Isamu Noguchi (all photos by the author)

 

Isamu Noguchi was born in Los Angeles in 1904. His mother Léonie Gilmour was an American writer and his father Yonejiro Noguchi was a Japanese poet who left to Japan before the birth of Isamu. In 1907 Isamu and his mother return to Japan in Yokohama.

The first room when you enter the exhibition

 

 In 1918 Isamu Noguchi returned to the US to enter the Rolling Prairie School in Indiana and in 1922 he worked as an apprentice of Gutzon Borglum, best known for his American’s Presidents sculptures of the Mount Rushmore National Memorial.
In 1924 Noguchi, after abandoned medical studies, started sculpture in Leonardo Da Vinci School of Art in Manhattan.  
In 1926, he saw an exhibition of Constantin Brancusi (1876-1957) in Brummer Gallery, New York (installed by Marcel Duchamp) and decided to go to Paris. With a Guggenheim Fellowship he arrived in Paris in 1927 and soon became Brancusi’s assistant.
He returned to the US in 1929 and met the architect Richard Buckminster Fuller with whom he will have a longtime friendship and collaboration along his life. He met also the choreographer Martha Graham. They will work together on more than 20 projects in three decades. Noguchi also worked with Ruth Page, Merce Cunningham (who worked with Jasper Johns) and the composer John Cage.
In the begining of the 1930’s he continued to travel to China, Japan, Europe and Mexico. He will continue to travel around the globe all along his life.

 

 

 

back : Peking Brush Drawing, ink on paper, 1930 

front : Chinese Girl, dental plaster, 1930 

His life was full of collaborations and travels, discovering and practising sculpture in so much differentmaterials in the countries he visited. His knowledge of each material in his art had no limits. That point of mastering in his art had really impressed me during the exhibition. I don’t know if there’s other sculptors that can work with such a perfection on various materials from wood to stone and metal.

In 1936 he was included by Alfred H. Barr Jr., director of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, to the famous show "Fantastic Art, Dada, Surrealism" with other artists like Arp, Bellmer, Brauner, Breton, Ernst, Klee, O'Keeffe, Oppenheim... among many other.
Along his life he had also lot of collaboration with famous photograpers like Lee Miller (1907-1977), who was Man Ray’s assistant and photojournalist for the magazine Vogue during World War II, two of many many roles in a Woman of the Century's life. 

 

 

Endless Coupling, 1957 an hommage to the Colonne sans fin (1938) of Brancusi

 

He is well known for the iconic international design of the Akari light sculptures made with washi paper. First models were made in Japan in 1952.

 

The most beautiful room of the exhibition

His work was largely exhibited in the US and France til his death in 1988.

The exhibition is open til July 2d, run to it !

Thanks for visiting my blog !

Vincent

 

 

Meeting of Ursi Lysser

 

(photos with courtesy of Ursi Lysser)

 

I’m really honored to have Ursi Lysser on my blog, a wonderful artist from Switzerland working with wax and encaustic.
We met at the 15th International Encaustic Conference in Provincetown in June 2022 . It was a perfect moment for artists from over the world to knew each over and became friends ! Since that we staid in touch via Facebook or Instagram.

Ursi Lysser have a solo show opening on march 3. You can see her new works in Bettlach, Galerie im Adamhaus, Switzerland. If you are close to Switzerland run to it ! If you are not there's an excellent video on her Instagram ;-)

Hi Ursi,

So glad you accept my invitation on my blog ! I’m really intrigued by your work, things I never saw in art ! First of all, where are you living ?

I live in a small village called Aarwangen which is close to Bern, Switzerland leading to the beautiful area Emmental.

I know you are working with different materials and love to explore different ways in art with wax and encaustic. For this solo show what were your sources of inspiration, what kept your mind working ?

I was looking for something different, something which includes my previous work as a couture dressmaker. I always was drawn to the past with its various decades of fashion stiles. I also love bringing new  with old together and creating something special. Like the old dressmaker dummy which I build up with encaustic medium and Oilsticks, then gave her a new dress out of mulberry paper.

 

Do you have other projects for 2023 ?

For the first time I’m participating in an international art show in Stuttgart, Germany. You can imaging that my nights turn into day with preparations. I’m working best when I’m under time pressure so I think it will be a good exhibition.

Do you remember the first time in your life you discovered encaustic ?

I wanted something new and in an online Video I saw the work of the late Nancy Crawford. I immediately was drawn to the way she painted. Well the rest is history. I just love exploring and testing new ideas with this exciting ancient material.

An artist you love ?

I’m a big fan of Paul Klee and often visit his Museum in Bern

To be an artist in five words ? (a wink to ProWax Journal. In Five Words was a regular feature in PWJ)

Searching

Learning 

Growing 

Modesty 

Sharing

 

And finaly some good place to visit in your town ?

Not in my town exactly, but Switzerland has so many beautiful places like the  Bern itself, the Valais area with it’s beautiful mountain or the Tessin. I say just come and visit yourself.
 

Viele danke Ursi !

 I wish you a lot of success for this solo show and your next exhibition in Stuttgart !

It was a new challenge for me, so glad you accepted this first interview on my blog.

I really appreciate your kindness.

 

To know more about Ursi visit her homepage:

 https://www.ursilysser.com/

Ursi's book about Encaustic : a must have for artists, German speaking only !

Me and Ursi in my studio in front of Incertitudes en Mouvement , July 2023

I hope you enjoy that interview,

Be inspired and creative! 

Vincent