Deux Côtés / Two Sides — Part II — Jean Fournier Gallery — Exhibition — Slash Paris

Past: December 1, 2016 → January 14, 2017

The Galerie Jean Fournier presents Deux Côtés/Two Sides, the second part of a collaborative project organized in conjunction with the gallery Theodore: Art in Brooklyn who hosted the first part in September.

This project is the result of thought processes and journeys between Paris and New York. During their conversations, Stephanie Theodore and Emilie Ovaere Corthay noticed preoccupations common to abstract painting in both Paris and New York. This two-part exhibition demonstrates the similarities and differences between the artists of the two galleries on either side of the Atlantic. It’s thanks to Peter Soriano, an American artist who lives in New York and Paris,that our two galleries, and their artists, have come together in this way.

Jack Davidson, Nothing but heart, 2016 Oil on canvas — 65 × 54 cm Courtesy of the artist & Galerie Jean Fournier, Paris

In September in New York, the first part presented work from four American artists, Eric Brown, Sharon Butler, Jack Davidson and Joyce Robins in a dialogue with Dominique de Beir, Frederique Lucien, Pierre Mabille, Christophe Robe and Peter Soriano

For the second part, the Galerie Jean Fournier welcomes work from the same American artists, in a dialogue with Fabienne Gaston-Dreyfus, Nicolas Guiet, Pierre Mabille, Peter Soriano and Claude Tetot, united by abstraction and color. Thus, during this project, nine artists from the Galerie Jean Fournier will have had a dialogue with four artists from the gallery Theodore: Art.

The exhibition is also an opportunity to highlight Franco-American artistic exchanges and to take note of the residence¹ undertaken by Pierre Mabille at the Albers Foundation in New Haven, Connecticut during the summer of 2016. A series of pastels on paper are presented, hung simply, as if in a studio.

The approaches of these eight artists are of course unique, but are all underpinned by the idea of a simple geometry, without ostentation, absolutely undemonstrative. These artists are also united by the search for formal balance and a profound understanding of the constructive and expansive power of color (Claude Tetot, Fabienne Gaston-Dreyfus or Pierre Mabille). This simplicity can be found in Eric Brown’s work as well as Sharon Butler’s.

Peter Soriano, Warren Street #17, 2011 Spray painting and pencil on paper — 35 × 147 cm © Alberto Ricci, Courtesy Galerie Jean Fournier, Paris

The forms used can sometimes come from the observation of surroundings taken from photographs (Jack Davidson), from the observation of movements in our view of a landscape (Peter Soriano) or even, as with Nicolas Guiet who, with the series of specifically created new volumes, refers us to the idea of ‘trophy’. This ambiguity between painting and sculpture can also be found in Joyce Robins’ work in clay. The different points of color and the pierced holes in the material interact with the light and dissolve the tangibility of the surface. Each time, the interpretation is not literal and gives free rein to the observer’s imagination.

Finally, to substantiate the ties between the United States and France, which have always been present at the Galerie Jean Fournier, a work on paper by Peter Soriano is presented. Produced using spray can paint and utilizing the semiotics of New York ground markings, this drawing is witness to Peter Soriano’s approach, inspired by his frequent transatlantic travel. He has adjusted the nature of his work to take account of mobility and movement.

The Deux Côtés/Two Sides project places itself at the heart of the preoccupations of our times, and is based on the ideas of migration and immediate artistic and intellectual exchange. These two exhibitions point towards the existence of an artistic community with common preoccupations, and underlines the intention of going beyond artistic and geographical boundaries.

Eric Brown, Red Alert, 2016 Oil on linen cavnas — 25,5 × 20 cm © Eric Brown, Courtesy Galerie Jean Fournier, Paris

¹ With the support of the city of Nantes and of the Institut Français

In collaboration with Theodore : Art Gallery, Brooklyn.