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250509: Grand Palais – La Force de l’Art
Grand Palais – La Force de l’Art
Greenhouse for contemporary art
The exhibition “La Force de l’Art” at the Grand Palais in Paris is deliberately not meant to be a classically curated exhibit, displaying works relating to one another or based on the same theme. The second edition of the triennial exhibition aims at reflecting the diversity of contemporary French art and returning its lost “power”; something evoked in the typically French immodest title. But it is regrettable that the peculiarities of this magical “power” fluctuate so heavily among the various work groups – obviously a reflection of the current Parisian taste.
For the majority of the 41 artists at the Grand Palais, the concept seems to play a greater role than the visual presentation. Repeatedly one will find appealing minimalistic sculptures or design- and Bauhaus citations lost in the White-Cube exhibition architecture, which incite associations to the fair/exhibition hermaphrodite “abc”, founded in 2009 by gallery owners in Berlin. Where is the value of novelty, where is the power hidden? – a question that arises when viewing Gordon Matta-Clark’s works of a self constructed yuppie bungalow divided into two halves.
But there are some interesting objects displayed – among them Michel Blazy’s installation, in which he positions a humungous tooth made of polyurethane, eggs, panning flour, chocolate pudding, and sweetened condensed milk next to late agar Easter eggs - all of which changes its form and colour through the strong sunlight and is placed inside two inaccessible rooms with earthy floors and net-like walls made of green glue. Questions on transience as well as the meaning and stability of art also arise through Wang Du’s installation “International Kebab”: stacked photos rotate on a huge spit, spanning over a height of three floors, which can be cropped by visitors. Art perceived as a consumer product is being reflected in the same way as the superiority of images.
With his large format aquarelles, Damien Deroubaix holds a mirror up to the obviously US-influenced consumer society, where advertising and political propaganda seamlessly flow into one another. The painter constructed three 5.50 m tall towers for the Grand Palais, which refer to watch towers and oilrigs and question the meaning of political power. Philippe Perrot presents creepy fairy tales painted in an expressive-surrealistic manner. Both of these rather untypical French painters, who prefer to live abroad, are among the four candidates for this years Prix Marcel Duchamp, which will be awarded at the art fair Fiac this fall.
Compared to the first edition of the triennial, in which 15 curators (instead of now three) presented 200 artists, this year’s exhibit clearly made progress. But it could not cast off its “trade fair” image, despite some well-arranged solo exhibits. This has a lot to do with the location, as the Grand Palais accommodates many trade fairs, including the Fiac. In any case it offered young artists a platform, while older artists such as Daniel Buren and ORLAND presented their work as “visitors” at well-known locations in Paris. The groundwork for young contemporary art has been laid – now it only has to steadily evolve.
By Conny Becker
Grand Palais –
75008 Paris, Avenue Winston Churchill, until 01.06.09
www.laforcedelart.fr
Mehr Texte von translated and summarized by: Liz Wollner-Grandville
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250509
