(Editor: Leona)
On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and France, The French Federation of Craft Professionals and the Lafayette Art & Design Center are hosting a joint exhibition around the theme “French Art Tour —The Art of French Living” along with a series of activities.
More than 76 works of art by 19 French Art Masters will be exhibited and many salons focusing on different topics will be held during this exhibition. The event aims to create a bridge and a platform for cultural exchanges between France and China by exhibiting high quality contemporary French handicraft artworks and creative artworks for the audience to admire.
France and China have a long history of cultural exchanges. Since its opening as a commercial port, Shanghai has become a focal point and main destination for exchanges between the West and China.The neo•classical architecture, designed by Hungarian architect Ladislaus Edward Hudec — Lafayette Theatre, which used to be located at the center of the formal French Concession, No. 323, Middle Fuxing Road, was the center of theatre performances in Shanghai for a long period. With time, the former Lafayette Theatre was reborn to a new brand: the ‘Lafayette Art & Design Center’, located in the Xintiandi area. While the cultural ties have never been cut off, with excellent French artists and their work from overseas presented here, we will carry on highlighting the value and significance of cultural exchanges, proof of the heritage of this site, No. 323, Middle Fuxing Road.
The 76 pieces shown in this exhibition and based on the theme “French Art Tour —The Art of French Living” at Lafayette Art & Design Center are made from various kinds of materials such as pottery clay, fired clay, wood, metal, fabric and lacquer. The artists are very interested in the mixture of various kinds of materials and they endow the materials with brand new characteristics by combining their extensive knowledge of different cultures with their talent in art and technology. Among the artwork shown, some reflects a search for vulnerability and the beauty of human beings; some focuses on modest natural forces; some is full of humor and poetic quality while some brings the audience into a world of wonderful imagination. All these pieces have collectively presented thoughts and exploration on style and possibility of ‘French Living’ in art and handicraft art circles of contemporary France and are an interpretation of the diverse life styles in France today.
The cultural heritage and evolution is full of beauty and wonder. Let us witness the historical process within the “French Art Tour —The Art of French Living” exhibition, to experience the sparks, the coming together of different cultures and enjoy the communication it opens up to us.
马克•阿尔伯特
Marc Albert
Born in 1964
Based in Tartiers, France
Marc Albert, a ceramist sculptor and former student of the Beaux• Arts school of Marseille and of the Ecole nationale supérieure des Arts Décoratifs of Paris, is a long time participant in the world of contemporary dance. He then chose clay as a means of artistic expression, and trained at the French Institute of Ceramics in Sèvres. His work focuses on porcelain bisque. His thrown pieces are off centre, seeking out the instant of movement after a danced and ethereal impetus. His recent series, the Catherines, suspended• like sculptures of the female body, revisits traditional shapes with a contemporary and personal approach. His career is dotted with exceptional projects, such as the designing of a 50 metre long fresco in the Trans• Siberian, which was then exhibited in Tien An Men Square in 1985.
Catherine 1 凯瑟琳1 / 70 x 50 x 20 cm, Porcelain and steel structure 1 (+ 1 steel frame), 2014 © DR
Iuciuc 尤秀科/ 70 x 190 x 13 cm, Porcelain and steel, 1 steel bed base + 88 porcelain birds, 2013 © DR
法比安娜•奥作
Fabienne Auzolle
Born in 1967
Based in Choisy le Roi, France
With degrees from the École supérieure des arts appliqués Duperré, the Manufacture nationale of Sèvres, the Centre Artisanal de la Terre, the École du Louvre and the Sorbonne, Fabienne Auzolle has proven her thirst for knowledge, along with her learning of primitive cooking techniques in Burkina Faso and glazed earthenware in Italy. Her "tactile" artwork, which mixes cultures and centuries, bearing beliefs and myths, transcribing the power of the elements, describes a woman who can be either ideal, mystical, dreamy, or a bearer of lightness, vivaciousness and causticity.
Dresses 礼服/ 160 cm (for each), Textile & Ceramics, 2014 © Frédéric Baron-Morin
Tree of life (millefiori) 生命之树（千华）/ 63 x 37 x 14 cm, Ceramics, 2014 © Frédéric Baron-Morin
索菲•巴渝
Sophie Bayeux
Born in 1967
Based in Saint •Jeannet, France
After studying at the Beaux •Arts school and working in the decorating industry, Sophie Bayeux decided to focus on ceramics, training for 3 years before setting up her studio. She creates wall •sculptures out of smoke •fired clay, drawing inspiration from sensitive topics such as war, suffering, hunger, racism. She cuts her work up before stitching it back together with wire, like enormous puzzles, and attires the matter, which is roughly worked over, with metallic shines that provide it with a precious look, making real wall jewels.
Happy 幸福/ 280 x 200 cm, Stoneware, 2014 © DR
Adonis 美少年/ 216 x 130 cm (installation), Stoneware, 2014 © DR
贞娜•博纳法迈克李爱丽
Jeanne Bonnefoy•Mercuriali
Born in 1980
Based in La Chapelle•Forainvilliers, France
For several years now, Jeanne Bonnefoy•Mercuriali has been travelling back and forth between her studio in France and the Middle East. Her creations interweave traditional inspirations and contemporary shapes. After perfecting her "colombin" technique in Yemen, she travelled to Palestine, where she created the Jeux d'anses series, drawing inspiration from antique earthenware jars. To call up the presence of the place where she lived, she started out by modeling local clay. The sobriety of these pieces is the reflection of this minimalist approach, which she has carried over to France.
Handles Game No.3 把手的游戏 3 / 22 x 18.5 x 18 cm；25 x 20 x 14cm；19 x 16 x 13 cm Stoneware, patina, 2013 © Jeanne Bonnefoy-Mercuriali
Handles GameNo.1 把手的游戏 1 / 57.5 x 39.5 x 26 cm, Stoneware, patina, 2014 © Jeanne Bonnefoy-Mercuriali
Born in 1957
Based in Clichy•La•Garenne, France
After studying textiles at the Olivier•de•Serres school and beginning her career as a stylist, Capri had a chance encounter with clay and decided to become a ceramic artist. For 15 years now, she has been creating a bestiary inspired by her childhood memories of growing up in the countryside. Her sandstone animal sculptures, from rabbits to insects, pigs to fish, always carefully documented, seem to have been given the gift of life, overflowing as they are with movement, expression and humour. In her selection presented to the Lafayette Art&Design Center, Capri makes light of evidences and clichés. The fables of La Fontaine, a major poet and moralist during the 17th century in France, are revisited with amost contemporary humour.
The Raven and the Fox 乌鸦与狐狸 / 38 x 26 x 24 cm, 6 kg, Stoneware, 2014 © Thomas Deschamps
The Frog that wished to be as big as the Ox 妄想成牛/ 35 x 22 x 22 cm，3 kg, Stoneware, 2014 © Thomas Deschamps
索菲•达拉洛萨
Sophie Dalla Rosa
Born in 1980
Based in Paris, France
A graduate of the École nationale supérieure des Arts Décoratifs of Strasbourg, Sophie Dalla Rosa uses all imaginable knitting possibilities and paradigms to create statuesque and poetic objects with strange, enigmatic shapes. The textile techniques of crochet are revisited using a more sculptural approach. Like contemporary chimeras, her creations are always shifting from the norm. Mainly inspired by nature, these “little nothings”, “parasites” or “curiosities”, as they are called, are made of pebbles or bits of wools. Sophie’s know •how is used in such fields as Haute Couture, cinema, and design.
Engrenages (Gears) 齿轮2 x 2 m, Merinos Wool, thread metal, 1 installation, 2014 © Matthieu Gauchet
Curiosity 3 好奇3 / 22 x 35 cm , Glass, thread, cotton, silk, metal, 2012 © Matthieu Gauchet
安妮瓦莱丽•杜邦
Anne• Valérie Dupond
Born in 1976
Based in France
Anne• Valérie Dupond’s work is a constant game of contradictions: between feminine and masculine, heavy and noble materials that oppose light and humble materials. Humour and mockery are always present, like in the “Les Grands Hommes” series, a reference to the tradition of majestic portraits, usually sculpted from noble material such as marble, by male artists. Fabric and sewing, generally associated with women, are used here for the creation of academic portraits to produce a humorous criticism of the longstanding male domination in the artistic world and an attempt at establishing gender equality. The series also underlines the importance and weight of history in France. Anne•Valérie Dupond has taken on several outstanding collaborations (Kenzo, Printemps Paris, etc.)
① : Camille Claudel 卡米耶 克劳德 / 58 x 35 x 25 cm, Synthetic fiber, fabric, buttons, sewing thread, 2014 © DR
② : Rodin 罗丹/ 51 x 40 x 30 cm, Synthetic fiber, cardboard, buttons, sewing thread, 2014 © DR
Victor Hugo 雨果/ 63 x 43 x 30 cm, Synthetic fiber, cardboard, buttons, sewing thread, 2014 © DR
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