Local Richmond artist and educator, Amie Oliver, curates an exhibition of artists with connections between both France and Virginia
Searching for rue Simon-Crubellier
video still
by Maria Miranda and Norie Neumark
February 24 - March 18, 2012
Main Gallery
"The French Connection" consists of a group of artists from the United States and abroad who've established studio practice for an extended period of time at the Cite Internationale des Arts in Paris, France. These extraordinary residencies function as a cultural and creative bridge between the known and the unknown in a place which transcends politics; where the most common language is art.
Artists interact on a global stage in Paris where the history is tangible. It is a physical a time portal: a grand promenade of the past, present and future for anyone with the curiosity and incentive to look in all directions. The work created by each artist in this exhibition filled their atelier in Paris like a dreamlike vacuum. This exhibition, like a portal, transports us from the Seine, which runs along the Cite Internationale des Arts, from the distant past to our present.
Paris embraces the new while exhaling its history from every angle. As a result, artists enter the Cite des Arts at once empty, yet pressurized like wine sac. There is a need to take in as much as possible while sighing "c'est la vie" at the end of each day. Each artist in "The French Connection" conveys a sensibility that I was reminded of during a William Kentridge installation at La Laboratorie, near Palais Royale: "Le negation du Temps." Kentridge simultaneously embraced and denied the construct of time with soul, humor and a billowy Phillip Miller soundtrack in his presentation. His video loop filled my head and reminded me that time is a construct we deny and ignore based on where and with whom we spend it and that it is an underlying component in the art of "The French Connection."
The Australian and American collaborators Maria Miranda and Norie Neumark experiment with the construct of time and space with "Searching for rue Simon-Crubellier." This cross media project that can be viewed online as well as in the gallery. Visit http://www.out-of-sync.com/searching/index.htm to experience their collaborative journey. California artist Lia Cook combines personal history, ancient technique and digital technology in her 21st C tapestries "Binary Traces: Memory" and "In the Maze." Charlottesville artist Dean Dass presents drawings which create a bridge between the sublime and his own symbolist dreams.
Paris is a time construct and a muse that travels with this collection of nearly 20 artists long after we've returned home to the comfort of family, friends and the familiar. The artwork on view in "The French Connection" is direct evidence of this affect.
http://thefrenchconnection2012.blogspot.com
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Opening Reception Fourth Friday
February 24, 2012
7-10 pm
Free and Open to the Public
Closing Artist Talk
Sunday, March 18, 2012
4 pm
Free and Open to the Public
Exhibiting Artists: Irene Barberis (Australia), Hafis Bertschinger (Switzerland), Lia Cook (California), Dean Dass (Virginia), Marinda Du Toit (South Africa), Elizabeth Flynn Chapman (Virginia), Sandra Gil (Portugal), Reni Gower (Virginia), Brian Kreydatus (Virginia), Maria Miranada (Australia), Norie Neumark (Australia), Amie Oliver (Virginia), Sally Rees (Australia), Chuck Scalin (Virginia), Diana Seeholzer (Switzerland), Lisa Tubach (Virginia), Yvette Watt (Tasmania), and more!
In the Maze
cotton and fiber
by Lia Cook
by Dean Dass
Last Night
Acrylic
by Brian Kreydatus
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