Last Thursday night was the opening of my partner Vincent Gagliostro’s new exhibition, There Never Was A Narrative at Galerie NEC in the Marais. Friends, family, collectors, blog readers, and clients of the gallery owners flocked to the gallery from 5pm-9pm and sipped white wine and Champagne while pondering the art.
Cousins of mine from New York were there as well as a blog reader who recognized me on the metro a few days before also came. Vincent looked smart and smashing in a new plaid shirt and a pair of dress, sweatpants made of gabardine, which I bought him for his birthday.
The show is an assemblage of collages that ultimately reflect the struggle to find inspiration and manifest new ideas during the time of Covid by borrowing from the past.
The exhibition is on until November 20, 2021
Galerie NEC
117 rue Vieille du Temple, 75003
Open Tuesday to Saturday 11am to 7pm
https://galerienec.com/exibitions-events/upcoming/
Below is Vincent’s artist’s statement for There Never Was A Narrative.
At the beginning of 2020, as one does, I had plans — to make a second feature film, to make an adaptation of a book for an episodic tv series, to make new art works for an exhibition. In February I travelled to Germany for the Berlinale and then in March on to LA to work on a photography book.
Well as the Yiddish adage goes “Man Plans, and God Laughs” — and so it went when the sudden emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic resulted in the narrative I had in mind for 2020 to abruptly cease to exist. With the imminent spectre of borders shutting down, my next destination had to be a return trip to Paris, instead of a visit to New York City.
Back in Paris, it was a struggle but manageable to continue working on the feature and the tv series. However, the pandemic presented seemingly insurmountable obstacles vis-à-vis creating new art works for my commitment to the 2021 exhibition at this gallery. All my usual resources were out of reach — people, situations, and relationships I depend on for inspiration and feedback as well as the materials necessary to create new works.
What I did have was portfolios and files of old work as well as scraps of “stuff” I had collected over time. As I sifted through this collection of flotsam and jetsam, I began to conceive of a way forward. I found inspiration from photographs I had taken while on Shelter Island in the summer of 1993 — specifically a set of Polaroids of a tree and also a set of black and white images of nature along the path to the water.
Exacto knife in hand and two inch wide scotch tape to deploy, I began what I call, “constructive displacement.” I had found a way back into familiar territory — an aesthetic world I knew well, and that has always given me a way to process the cascade of experiences and circumstances that relentlessly unfurl in our daily lives.
The continuity between what informed my previous work and what has informed the work I'm presenting in this exhibition is best expressed by a quote from the artist Piet Mondrian:
“The natural appearance of things, deceives the eye: although reality shows a certain order in its articulation and multiplicity, this order is often obscured by its own forms and colors. It is the ‘equilibrated order’ that arouses the deepest emotion of harmony in the viewer.”
Mondrian spoke of the need to find an equilibrium between science and nature, the plastic and the real, the natural and the artificial. As I cut up the images, I knew I would need to create an equilibrium out of debris left behind — like a piece of aluminum foil floating upriver, plastic cups, old rags — amidst the elemental life of nature. It became increasingly apparent it was imperative to create something of beauty as I faced an uncertain future.
The difference between past and present work lies in my questioning of the concern to create a coherent narrative for this exhibition.
While I was searching through those dozens of files and boxes of “stuff”, I found myself wondering if there was a narrative to be found. I knew for certain that the narratives I told myself kept changing over time and were never solely of my own creation. Questions arose: Is our narrative laid upon us from birth? Before birth?
I had a sudden thought — maybe, just maybe there never was a narrative.
Eye Prefer Paris Postcards with the Doors of Paris.
I am excited to launch a new series of Eye Prefer Paris Postcards with the Doors of Paris.
The limited-edition series of Eye Prefer Paris Door Collection Postcards are available three different ways.
18 cards: 3 Red Doors, 3 Blue Doors, 3 Green Doors, 3 Wood Doors, 3 Iron Doors, and 3 Door Knockers.
Cost: $65- Free shipping
9 postcards: 3 Red Doors, 3 Blue Doors, 3 Green Doors.
Cost: $35 plus $5 shipping
9 postcards: 3 Wood Doors, 3 Iron Doors, and 3 Door Knockers
Cost: $35 plus $5 shipping
Each postcard is printed on thick matte coated card stock, similar to traditional vintage postcard stock, that enhances the vibrancy of each image. Eye Prefer Paris Postcards come in classic postcard size (6”x 4.25”), perfect for collecting, framing, or sending to that special someone.
Each order is specially hand wrapped with love from Paris and mailed in an elegant, French blue envelope. Postcards take about 4- 7 days to arrive in the U.S.
Just in time for the holidays, the Eye Prefer Paris-Paris Door Collection make a perfect gift for your Francophile friends and family, and I can write a handwritten note for you and include it in the envelope.
CLICK HERE to order 18 cards: 3 Red Doors, 3 Blue Doors, 3 Green Doors, 3 Wood Doors, 3 Iron Doors, and 3 Door Knockers.
Cost: $65- Free shipping
CLICK HERE to order 9 postcards: 3 Red Doors, 3 Blue Doors, 3 Green Doors.
Cost: $35 plus $5 shipping
CLICK HERE to order 9 postcards: 3 Wood Doors, 3 Iron Doors, and 3 Door Knockers
Cost: $35 plus $5 shipping
Red Doors
Green Doors
Blue Doors
Metal Doors
Wood Doors
Door Knockers
