KRAEMER GALLERY & KAMEL MENNOUR PRESENTED
«AN EXHIBITION-DIALOGUE» at 43 RUE DE MONCEAU, PARIS October 20-31, 2015
During the FIAC (International Contemporary Art Fair) in Paris, Kraemer Gallery invited Kamel Mennour to present the works of some contemporary artists in the lounges of its mansion. The event has been organized under the expert eye of Jean-Jacques Aillagon.
Kraemer Gallery has orchestrated this “dialogue” with contemporary artists in its salons at 43 rue de Monceau to celebrate its 140th anniversary.
Since 1875, the founders of Kraemer Gallery and their descendants have embraced innovation while maintaining a tradition of excellence. Six generations later, Kraemer Gallery has evolved into the leading worldwide specialist of 18th-century furniture and works of art.
Today, firmly focused on the future, Kraemer Gallery reinterprets 18th-century codes through ever more contemporary exhibitions staging reminiscent of some of their lounges.
In conjunction with former French Culture Minister Jean-Jacques Aillagon, the exhibition showcases works by Anish Kapoor, Daniel Buren, Claude Lévêque, and Lee Ufan, on loan from Kamel Mennour gallery, which resonate with furniture and works of art dating back to the Age of Enlightenment and created by 18th-century’s masters André-Charles Boulle, Charles Cressent, Jean-Henri Riesener and Martin Carlin.
"These four contemporary artists have a special bond with Versailles or the Louvre. The Kraemer Gallery provides a magnificent setting for their work, creating a dialogue with the masters of furniture," explains Kamel Mennour.
"This exhibition is both a tribute to the founders of our gallery and, for our collectors, a tangible testimonial to the union between 18th-century and contemporary art," clarify Laurent and Olivier Kraemer.
To showcase this "pas de deux", Kraemer Gallery commissioned scenery from Patrick Hourcade, who designed and produced the "18th century, aux sources du design" exhibition at Château de Versailles (October 2014 to February 2015).
A pair of Louis XVI ewers in blue faïence of Nevers mounted with chased, open-work, and gilded bronzes. Kraemer Gallery - Paris
THE ARTISTS
André-Charles Boulle
French furniture designer and illustrator André-Charles Boulle worked as a cabinetmaker to the Crown (officially designated the "ébéniste ordinaire du roi") from 1672 until his death and also took commissions from private customers. He gave his name to a furniture inlay technique featuring natural materials, metal, and various wood marquetry.
Daniel Buren
Daniel Buren was born in Boulogne-Billancourt in 1938 and specializes in site-specific art. In 2004, his work was displayed on the Green Carpet in the gardens of Château de Versailles.
Martin Carlin
Declared a master in 1766, he met and subsequently worked almost exclusively with entrepreneurial merchants known as marchands-merciers, including Poirier, Daguerre, and the Darnault brothers. His style attests to a clear penchant for rare materials from the Louis XVI period in general and for marchands-merciers in particular. He liked contrasting the gilding of bronze with the black background of ebony and lacquer, as well as using plaques of Sèvres porcelain.
Charles Cressent
Cabinetmaker to the Duke of Orléans, he worked for the Regent and his son. His creations are characterized by the emphasis placed on bronzes, which Crescent sculpted and chiseled himself. His most productive period was 1725-1745, when he defined the shapes of the flat desk and the Louis XV chest of drawers, with its gently curved legs and rococo bronze decoration.
Anish Kapoor
Born in Mumbai in 1954, Anish Kapoor moved to London in the early 1970s. His work quickly gained international renown and he received numerous prizes, including the famous Turner Prize in 1991. Since then, his art has been the subject of many dedicated exhibitions in the world's most prestigious museums, including the Guggenheim, the Louvre, the Royal Academy, and Tate Modern. For the 2012 Olympic Games in London, he was commissioned to design an iconic structure intended to become a lasting legacy of the event. The result was a 116-meter-high sculpture entitled "Orbit". He is currently exhibiting at Versailles, and his work has been on display at the Jewish Museum and Tolerance Center in Moscow since the end of September.
Claude Lévêque
Born in Nevers (France) in 1953, Claude Lévêque lives and works in Montreuil and Pèteloup (France). His art has been the subject of numerous dedicated and collective exhibitions in France and abroad at Centre Pompidou, Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, Villa Medicis in Rome, Fundación Joan Miró in Barcelona, PS1 and Guggenheim Museums in New York, Mori Art Museum in Tokyo, Hamburger Bahnhof - Museum Fur Gegenwart in Berlin, Moscow Museum of Modern Art, and MAMCO in Geneva, and as part of various “biennales” and “Triennale”, including Jerusalem and Busan Biennales. In 2009, Claude Lévêque represented France at the 53rd International Venice Art Biennale. In 2015, he was invited by Le Louvre to install a monumental creation.
Jean-Henri Riesener
Declared a master in 1768, he became the official supplier to the Crown. Riesener worked for both the Royal Court (at Versailles, Fontainebleau, Trianon, and Marly) and the kingdom's most high-profile dignitaries: The King's brothers, the Counts of Provence and Artois, the Daughters of Louis XV, and the Dukes of Orléans, Penthièvre, Rochefoucauld and Biron.
Lee Ufan
Born in 1936 in Haman County, South Korea, Lee Ufan's work has been exhibited around the world at Versailles in 2014, Benesse Art Site Naoshima, various international biennales, the Documenta exhibition, Guggenheim, MoMa (as part of its examination of Tokyo's avant-garde art scene), Punta della Dogana in Venice (in its study of the Mono-ha movement), Jeu de Paume in Paris, and Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature in Paris.
THE ORGANIZERS
KRAEMER GALLERY
Authenticity, beauty, rarity, and originality: such are the keywords that have guided Gallery Kraemer's decisions since 1875. Not only is Maison Kraemer the oldest Parisian gallery specializing in the finest 17th and 18th-century furniture, but it is also the most renowned. For six generations, it attracts the attention of private collectors and great international museums such as The Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York), The J.Paul Getty Museum (Los Angeles), The Museum of Fine Art (Boston), The Philadelphia Museum of Art, The Cleveland Museum of Arts, The Detroit Institute of Arts, The Birmingham Museum of Art (Alabama), The White House (Washington D.C.), The Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco – Legion of Honor, The Frick Collection (New York), Musée du Louvre (Paris), Château de Versailles, Musée Nissim de Camondo (Paris)...
KAMEL MENNOUR GALLERY
Kamel Mennour Gallery was founded in 1999 in the very heart of Saint-Germain-des-Prés: at 47 rue Saint-André des Arts, on the ground floor of the 17th-century Hôtel de La Vieuville mansion, and at 6 rue du Pont de Lodi. It exhibits the work of around thirty internationally renowned, contemporary young artists.
INFORMATIONS