This catalogue/artists' book is based on the notebook, reproduced in facsimile,
where Sophie von Hellermann and Josh Smith have drawn during the installation
of their first duo exhibition.
Bringing together some exhibition views and the correspondence between the
artists and the curators, the book documents a confrontation of two painters
from the same generation who, having in common a prolific production that
undermines the conception of painting as masterpiece, and emphasizing painting
as a stage in a continuous process of creation, express however a common
energy and freedom through radically different projects.
where Sophie von Hellermann and Josh Smith have drawn during the installation
of their first duo exhibition.
Bringing together some exhibition views and the correspondence between the
artists and the curators, the book documents a confrontation of two painters
from the same generation who, having in common a prolific production that
undermines the conception of painting as masterpiece, and emphasizing painting
as a stage in a continuous process of creation, express however a common
energy and freedom through radically different projects.
Published on the occasion of Josh Smith and Sophie von
Hellermann's exhibition at Le Consortium, Dijon, from
September to November 2009, and at Museum Dhondt-Dhaenens,
Deurle, from April to June 2010.
Hellermann's exhibition at Le Consortium, Dijon, from
September to November 2009, and at Museum Dhondt-Dhaenens,
Deurle, from April to June 2010.
Josh Smith (*1978, lives and works in New York) has recently gained
a wide acclaim for paintings that seem to turn Abstract Expressionism
into cartoon-like forms of appropriation. He first became known for the
works in which he used his name as a motif on the canvas, an ironic
act of self marketing. His later "abstractions" and "palettes"
further demonstrated his ability to collage manual imput and
mechanical reproduction, challenging the notions of creation.
a wide acclaim for paintings that seem to turn Abstract Expressionism
into cartoon-like forms of appropriation. He first became known for the
works in which he used his name as a motif on the canvas, an ironic
act of self marketing. His later "abstractions" and "palettes"
further demonstrated his ability to collage manual imput and
mechanical reproduction, challenging the notions of creation.
In a world of incessant flows, products, and images, Smith
succeeds in offering an alternative flow that serves to break the
repetition of the same. Authenticity is not to be sought in a
triumphant subjectivity whose return would be signaled through
signature and expressiveness, but in a frenzied search whereby
subject and work are constantly co-produced and modified.
succeeds in offering an alternative flow that serves to break the
repetition of the same. Authenticity is not to be sought in a
triumphant subjectivity whose return would be signaled through
signature and expressiveness, but in a frenzied search whereby
subject and work are constantly co-produced and modified.
(*1978, Munich, lives and works in London) allows herself to draw from the history of painting and from its progressively acquired liberties in order to
trace her singular path. From this singular space, she uses painting as an instrument that allows her simultaneously to appropriate and to excuse
herself from reality. Each one of SvH's paintings condenses a story, and contains it perfectly within the limits of the frame, yet it is pierced full of
holes from within. These empty spaces imbue her works with their evocative power : a capacity first to absorb the gaze and then to expose both the imagination and the memory to sensation. The subject-matter of her
essentially narrative paintings is at the intersection of a personal and a collective history, without there being any clear boundaries between the two. Rapid execution, a prolific output, a casual style, narratives which blend
history and the everyday, a permanent confusion between the trivial and the grandiose are the instruments she uses to transgress the rules of propriety
in painting.
http://www.lespressesdureel.com/EN/ouvrage.php?id=1873&menu=
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