Category Archives: Paris

Takashi Murakami – Understanding the New Cognitive Domain at Gagosian Le Bourget

December 20, 2023 butterfly

Understanding the New Cognitive Domain, is the first exhibition of work by Japanese artist Takashi Murakami at the Gagosian Gallery in Le Bourget, main private air hub on the outskirts of Paris, France.

Focused on his monumental paintings. The exhibition features five such works plus others in smaller formats and several sculptures.

Murakami wanted to offer the French public a window on Japanese history, the history of Asia, creating bridges between Western culture and Eastern culture, the digital world and the real world, abstract art and figurative art.

Two monumental frescoes welcome the visitors upon entering the gigantic warehouse gallery space. A new 5 x 23-meter painting by Murakami is based on the iwai-maku, or stage curtain, that he produced for the Kabuki-za theater in Ginza, Tokyo.

The frescoe titled ‘The Name Succession of Ichikawa Danjūrō XIII, Hakuen, Kabuki Jūhachiban (2023)’ pays tribute to traditional Japanese Kabuki theater, and specially the stage name Ichikawa Danjūrō XIII, Hakuen by Japanese Kabuki actor and producer Ichikawa Ebizō XI.

Stage names, which specify an actor’s style and lineage, are passed down through generations and the Ichikawa family has a roughly 350-year history. Murakami’s design, which was commissioned by film director Takashi Miike, was unveiled during the first performance of Ichikawa Shinnosuke VIII at the November Kichirei Kaomise Grand Kabuki Theater program earlier in November 2022.

The second monumental painting, Dragon in Clouds – Indigo Blue (2010), is a reference to eccentric Japanese artist Soga Shōhaku’s Dragon and Clouds (1763). Shōhaku’s work is a multi-panel Unryūzu (cloud-and-dragon) painting in which the creature appears as a Buddhist symbol of optimism and good fortune. Murakami’s painting resonates with contemporary Japanese visual culture, particularly the video game Blue Dragon, while its vast scale revives the visceral and psychological impact of Shōhaku’s masterpiece.

In the second space, two frescoes respond to each other, like a distorting mirror: one is the perfect illustration of the Superflat style (a movement halfway between pop art and Japanese kawaii culture invented by Murakami in the 2000s), and the other features sunflowers in a marbled effect.

Between traditional art and contemporary art, Murakami’s heart swings. He recently became interested in cryptoart, and he even launched his own NFT project, Murakami Flowers, last year. “During the pandemic, I really felt that the line between the real and digital world was becoming more and more blurred, and I think NFTs are the artistic expression of this permeability. I create NFTs to insert myself into this metaverse and then make real paintings to explain the world of NFTs to people in the real world . ”

Also on view are several “lucky cat” paintings that reference the artist’s recent NFT projects, and other works featuring Murakami’s iconic smiling flower motif—including a two-meter rainbow neon sign—in which the artist again employs a retro-digital variant on his influential Superflat aesthetic.

Two mirror-plated figures representing futuristic anime-style avatars reinvest the Clone X NFTs (2021) that Murakami developed in collaboration with RTFKT Studios with physical presence, reflecting his fascination with the metaverse and his sensitivity to the hybrid nature of agency in today’s world.

His ever-proliferating cartoonlike blossoms function as immediately recognizable and infinitely flexible icons that may be at once ornamental and symbolic, directing the viewer toward intertwined themes of identity, representation, and technology.

The exhibition shows the full extent of Murakami’s talent and his artistic references, ranging from the masters of the Edo period (1603-1867) to the aesthetics of video games through American abstract artists.

Understanding the New Cognitive Domain is on view through December 22 @ Gagosian Le Bourget

Pictures courtesy the artist and Gagosian

Art Fair, Paris

Highlights from Paris+ par Art Basel 2023

October 23, 2023 butterfly

The second edition of Paris+ par Art Basel continues ascent as a global art market hub, featuring 154 premier galleries including 61 operating spaces in France and leading international participants from Europe, the Americas, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.

Here are some highlights of this year edition:

Paris + par Art basel offered a vibrant panorama of the thriving art scene with an expanded, freely accessible cultural program unfolding across six storied Parisian locations. For the 2023 edition, works were presented in five locations: in the Jardin des Tuileries – Domaine National du Louvre, on Place Vendôme, in the Chapelle des Petits-Augustins des Beaux-Arts de Paris, in the Palais d’Iéna, and on the parvis de l’Institut de France.

To view all the projects, please visit parisplus.artbasel.com/public-program.

Click on the images for more details. Courtesy Paris+ par Art Basel

This year’s Conversations program, curated by Charles Teyssou and Pierre-Alexandre Matéos, was presented in collaboration with the Centre Pompidou and unfolded at the Musée national Picasso-Paris.

The fair took place at the Grand Palais Éphémère from October 20 to 22, 2023 and attracted an overall attendance of 38’000 throughout its VIP and public days.

Paris

LAYERS – JEWELLERY COLLAB LEK / RENK’ART

October 11, 2023 butterfly

LAYERS is a jewellery capsule collection between legendary French graffiti artist LEK and jewellery brand RENK’ART, designed by Marion Broodthuis Gravier.

Since 2019, RENK’ART, the Berlin-Parisian brand continues to attract more and more Street-Art and Fashion lovers with its jewellery, made from 100% Street materials.

Renk’Art, which translates in French to “a date with art” is the first street art inspired jewellery brand that offers unique ready-to-wear art pieces. Made of ‘Graffiti Fordite’ (accumulation of layers of paint like Ford cars) , every piece tells its own very unique story, combining art, fashion and history.

From Berlin, Paris, Lisbon and Brussels, RENK’ART continues its series of collaborations with renowned graffiti and street artists from all over the world.

For this third series, RENK’ART is returning to its source: PARIS.

LEK needs no introduction: his distinctive style mixes harmoniously the codes of architecture, abstract, futurism with graﬃti.

His artistic journey is impressive: often working as a duo with SOWAT from Mausolee (2012) to Palais de Tokyo, Les Bains Douches (2013), La Tour 13, his artistic residency at Villa Medici (2015), Graff on Tour(s) with le Centre des Monuments Nationaux at La Rochelle (2018), or painting a Castle for the Label Valette Festival (2022) to numerous artistic collaborations with Agnes B to name a few.

The idea of a collaboration came during an encounter at the Label Valette Festival in 2022. Creating the material from layers of mastered and documented paints seemed very interesting to both of them .

For the LAYERS collection, LEK started out with painting multiple layers of his signature graffiti lettering style with vibrant colours, which were then intricately cut out by RENK’ART and melded with sterling silver to create 50 stunning unique one-off pieces.

From cufflinks to earrings and necklaces, the result is a slick and stylish jewellery collection.

Photos credit W.L.V.

LAYERS by LEK / RENK’ART will be revealed on 12 October 2023 at a secret location in Paris

Paris, Shows

KAWS: TIME OFF at Skarstedt Paris

March 18, 2023 butterfly

American artist KAWS is currently exhibiting at Skarstedt Gallery in Paris. TIME OFF marks the culmination of a series of paintings started in 2020, at the height of the confinement, and features a new large scale bronze sculpture.

The works on view in TIME OFF are introspective and reflect on the transient nature of time. In each painting, KAWS’s signature Michelin’s man character CHUM appears before the viewer with complex configurations of bright bands of paint acting as an additional barrier between us and the figure, with the notion of time feeling constricting or isolating.

This series depict KAWS’s interpretation on personal confinement and the passing of time and the uncertainty of events.

As KAWS continues to delve into these themes, the paintings in this series become progressively more elaborate and, at times, chaotic, which draw the parallel on the events we are experiencing.

In some works the bars break free of their architecturally rendered confines and shoot out in all directions across the canvas, causing CHUM to duck down or become shrouded by them, respectively. Other paintings reflects the uncertainty of how to navigate the space we inhabit.

Despite the persistence of doubt in these works, KAWS leaves his viewers with a palpable optimism for the future with the use of bright and vivid colours. Not all hope is lost. Despite confusing and uncertain times, the aim is to seek artistic beauty and make the most of what is around you.

Until 22 April 2023, Skarstedt Gallery, 2 Avenue Matignon, 75008 Paris

Paris

CAPITALE(S) 60 Years of Urban Art in Paris

November 9, 2022 butterfly

Butterfly Art News is pleased to partner with the Ville de Paris for the Exhibition ‘CAPITALE(S) – 60 ans d’art urbain’, hosted within the Hotel de Ville, Paris City Hall, and running from 15 October until 3 June 2023. Free entry, but booking is essential here

Through the creations of more than 70 artists, works from prestigious collections, archive documents, photos and videos, in situ interventions, painted walls throughout the city, CAPITALE(S) presents a wide panorama of the Urban Art Movement and the importance of the Parisian scene spanning across the past 60 years.

The exhibition starts with pioneers from the 60’s and 70’s like Jacques Villegle, Raymond Hains, Ernest Pignon-Ernest or Zlotykamien.

Then the early 80’s feature the white man figures of Jerôme Mesnager, robots by Speedy Graphito and the proliferation of stencils by Miss Tic, Blek Le Rat, Mosko, Jef Aerosol, Epsylon Point.

This period of intense urban activity allows the emergence of artists’ collectives such as VLP (Vive la Peinture) affiliated with the punk culture or the Ripoulin brothers.

French-American teenager Bando (b. in 1965) introduced graffiti in France after writing in New York, followed by the New York City Rap Tour in 1982. Graffiti writers invade the banks of the Seine and adorn the palissades of the Louvre construction site. Stalingrad, a spot found by graffiti writer Ash, becomes the Hall of Fame for the prolific graffiti scene until 1989, featuring writers like Mode2, Niels ‘Shoe’ Meulman, Lokiss, Nasty, SKKI and numerous graffiti crew. In parallel Psychose paints in the catacombs and the underground sewers system.

In 1987 Keith Haring paints the emergency staircase of the Hopital Necker to provide hopes of brightening the spirits of sick children in the world’s first pediatric hospital.

Like in the US, graffiti was severely repressed in Paris in the early 90’s. American artists like Futura, A-One or even Rammellzee gain recognition from the European artistic community and present their works in galleries and museums in Paris. JonOne will settle permanently in Paris.

In the 2000’s, urban art has become a global movement with a multitude of techniques: from graffiti to street art, paste ups, stickers, stencils, mosaics and more. International artists are coming to Paris to leave their mark: Shepard Fairey, Swoon, Banksy, Vhils.

French artists have also gained international recognition: Andre, Invader, Zevs, JR, Dran, Lek and Sowat, Seth, L’Atlas, C215, Ludo, RERO, Philippe Baudelocque to Levalet.

Specially for CAPITALE(S), Invader has put two new aliases to be flashed for all the Flash Invaders addicts and shared a fully updated map of his invasion of the streets of Paris.

The exhibition presents also immersive and playful experiences.

Kashink, Kraken and Madame have created 3 entirely virtual works, hidden in a secret room of the exhibition: “The Fifth Wall“. A hunt for clues in Augmented Reality can be found through QR codes to be scanned under the works.

Visitors can try out graffiti with a digital spray can through GRAFFITI DIGITAL Picturae.

Artist Cristobal Diaz has created a GRAFF BOX, an immersive experience combining urban calligraphic production with playful digital devices featuring 250 artists.

While it is difficult to include the full scope of artists that have been active in Paris in the past 60 years within the City Hall, the four curators Magda Danysz, Elise Herszkowicz, Nicolas Laugero Lasserre and Marko93 have gathered following artists:

• Jacques Villeglé • Zlotykamien • Ernest Pignon-Ernest • Surface Active • Captain Fluo • Edmond Marie Rouffet • Blek le Rat • Miss.Tic • VLP • Speedy Graphito • Jean Faucheur • Mesnager • Mosko • Jef Aérosol • Bando • Ash • Jay0ne • SKKI • Keith Haring • Mambo • Nasty • Slice • Psyckoze • Lokiss • Shoe • Futura • A-One • Rammellzee • Jon0ne • André • Zevs • Dize • Invader • Shepard Fairey • JR • Vhils • Swoon • Banksy • C215 • L’Atlas • YZ • Seth • Tarek Benaoum • eL Seed • Ludo • Rero • Dran • O’Clock • Tanc • Lek • Sowat • Cristobal Diaz • Philippe Baudelocque • Levalet • Madame • Kashink • Vision • Pest • Greky • Sébastien Preschoux • Romain Froquet • Kraken • 9eme Concept • Les Francs Colleurs • Saype

There is also a prolific programme throughout the exhibition:

New murals will be painted at the Pavillon Carré de Baudouin and in several Parisian districts,
A selection of pictures will be featured on the gates of the City Hall,
Workshops, conferences and screenings of films and documentaries.
A book accompanying the exhibition is available at Gallimard / Editions Alternatives

Big thanks to all the teams, artists, photographers, lenders and institutions that have participated to the exhibition, specially Clemence Demolling, as well as all the artists that have contributed to the scene over the past 60 years.