Quinte-Essence — air eau terre feu éther — Exhibition — Slash Paris

Past: October 17, 2015 → January 30, 2016

[From Primitive Arts until today — 2015, 90th Anniversary of the gallery]

In celebration of its 90th anniversary and to express support for the environmental values in th Fall 2015, the gallery presents Quinte-Essence in both of its two spaces, from October 17 to December 19, and during the FIAC, *from October 22 to 25, 2015.

This large-scale exhibition is conceived and structured around the five elements, and presents major works from the Primitive Arts until today.

Yang Jiechang, 100 layers of ink — On Ascension, 1990 China ink and medicinal materials on Xuan paper and gauze — 296 × 190 cm Courtesy Jeanne Bucher Jaeger

The theory of the five elements is an ancient way of describing and analyzing the world. For the Western civilization, it was invented by the Greek Philosophers (in particular Empedocles in the 5th Century B.C.) and we know that similar theories existed as well in other civilizations, particularly in Asia. Based on the idea that all the materials constituting our planet are composed of one or several of these five elements (Air, Water, Earth, Fire, and Ether/Metal) in greater or lesser quantities, as is the human body, which regulates their function, this exhibition will present artists whose main characteristic is to have worked principally with their environment and to have integrated these elements into the very heart of their artistic practice.

Antonella Zazzera, Armonico CL XXXVII, 2012 Copper thread — 480 × 100 × 20 cm Courtesy Jeanne Bucher Jaeger

Maria Hélèna Vieira Da Silva, Ariane, 1988 Oil on canvas — 130 × 97 cm Courtesy Jeanne Bucher Jaeger