NEWSLETTER N°20 EGLANTINE DE GANAY’S NEW SHOW ! LOST IN PARADISE INFORMATION : [email protected] - (+33) 6 81 26 18 37 INTRODUCTION Lost in Paradise : Du spirituel dans l’art actuel The spiritual in today’s art A&E Projects A&E Projects specialises in contemporary art with a particular on China, India and Iran. A&E Projects was born from both Arianne Levene and Eglantine de Ganay’s desire to unite their individual skills and experience as art advisors and curators and their knowledge of the global contemporary art world. This exhibition is their third collaboration following the hi- ghly acclaimed “Made in Iran” exhibition at Asia House (Lon- don, 2009) and Rashid Rana’s solo show at the Musée Guimet (Paris, 2010). Arianne Levene and Eglantine de Ganay have worked together with some of Asia’s leading and most highly respected artists and collectors; both as curators and in ensu- ring the placing of their works amongst the world’s top pri- vate and public art collections. Outline for the exhibition A&E Projects was born from the desire to introduce the pu- blic to artists that stand out on the Contemporary Internatio- nal art scene, with a particular focus on art from Asia, South East Asia and the Middle-East. For our most recent exhibition, we have chosen to work with five artists with varying social, cultural and religious backgrounds: Reza Aramesh (Iran/UK), Shezad Dawood (India/Pakistan/UK), Idris Khan (Pakistan/UK), Ariandhitya Pramhendra (In- donesia) et Michal Rovner (Israel/ US). All these artists address, in their own unique and personal way, issues surrounding spirituality, religion and the human condition. Upon closer examination tensions appear. Some of the artists have chosen to use religious iconography as a way of expressing deep-rooted emotional responses to contempo- rary societies failures; whilst others prefer to explore a spiri- tual journey and therefore revert to more abstract and sym- bolic imagery, in a desire to transcend religious beliefs. It is evident that the artist will be faced with a number of internal struggles, not least the difficulty of creating art in a time when we are also experiencing war, terrorism and social inequality. 1 The continuous search for a way to make art that is both re- levant and aesthetically engaging, that does not exclude the viewer and still manages to address ‘difficult’ subject matter is undertaken by all of the artists in this exhibition. Reza Aramesh Born 1970 in Awhaz , Iran. Lives and works in London, UK. Left: “Action 96. An Algerian prisoner of war is guarded by a French soldier in an old pigsty within the military camp in Ain Perzine, April 1961”. 2010 - Hand-printed silver gelatin mounted on aluminium, framed in aluminium Diptych: (each) 105 x 124 cm, overall 105 x 248 cm. Center: “Action 102. October 17, 1961. Violet attack on Algerian demonstrators in Paris….”, 2010 - Hand-printed silver gelatin mounted on aluminium, framed in aluminium Triptych: (each) 190.8 x 77.8 cm, overall 190.8 x 232.4 cm Right: “Action 106. West Bank: Israeli soldiers guard an unidentified Arab Prisoner. 13 June 1967”, 2011 - Polychromed limewood, glasses and wood veneers H= 75 cm 2 Photography is Reza Aramesh’s medium of choice that he uses to capture his “actions”. These photographs are contemporary altarpieces inspired by images from television reports and news footage of the international conflicts that have marked our world from the 1960s to the present day. In the series shot at the musée Rodin in Paris the Iranian artist took the religious iconography to create a universe dominated by the violence perpetrated on war victims. They become, in this luxurious environment of the museum, today’s heroines and martyrs. This opposition between beauty and brutality allows the artist to unveil the absurdity and the futility of these terrible actions. Aramesh also conceives powerful sculptures that portray modern victims as Christian martyrs. The pose given by the artist to his human figures shows the influence of religious 17th Century Spa- Left: “Action 84.Algerian prisoners of war, 1961”, 2010 - Hand-printed silver gelatin mounted on aluminium, framed in aluminium Triptych: (Left) 240 x 70 cm, (Centre) 240 x 90 cm, (Right) 240 x 70 cm Overall 240 x 230 cm) Right: “Action 97. Algerian civilians suspected of being terrorists are searched and put on trucks to be taken to the interrogation cells. Algiers 1956.”, 2010 - Hand-printed silver gelatin mounted on aluminium, framed in aluminiun Triptych: (left) 190.8 x72.3 cm (center) 190.8 x 100.8 cm, (right) 190.8 x 72.3 cm. Overall: 190.8 x 245.4 cm) 3 nish sculpture. Sculptors from this period such as Pedro de Mena and Gregorio Fernández refined their technique, allowing them to create unbelievably realistic, almost human, polychromed sculptures of saints and martyrs that could communicate the pain of the punishments inflicted. Untitled Action 128 - 2012 (in production) - Polychromed limewood, glass and wood veneers - H 171 cm (plinth 84.5 x 92.4 x 80 cm) At the age of 15, Aramesh left Iran to study chemistry in Lon- don. Then he decided to change courses and graduated in Fine Art from Goldsmith College in London in 1997. His works have been shown at the Tate Britain (2009), the Barbican Gallery (2007), the Courtauld Institute (2006), the ICA (2004) as well as in 4 China and Dubai. Shezad Dawood Born 1974 in London, UK. Lives and works in London, UK. Right: “Jewels of Aptor II“ - 2010 - Medium: Neon and taxidermied bird - 90 x 80 cm, neon rings 95 cm diameter each Center: “Black Sun“ - 2009 - Wall mounted neon on black painted wall area - (Neon rings) 110 cm diam; overall 250 x 325 cm Left: “Devas / Sparrow Hawk“ - 2012 - Neon and taxidermied bird (Bird) 60 x 36 x 10 cm (neon diameter) 35 cm At Shezad Dawood’s Pakistani, Indian and British upbringing are at the origin of his rich and mixed artistic approach. Da- wood’s colourful installations made of neons and tribal textiles laid on canvas translate his sensitivity toward exoticism, poetry and joy. The Jewels of Aptor is composed of a taxidermied bird suspended in the middle of fluorescent neons circles. This work refers directly to the 12th Century poem The Conference of the 5 Birds by Farid Al-Din Attar as well as J.G. Ballard’s novel, The Unlimited Dream Company. In these writings the image of the bird is perceived as the allegory to wider philosophical theories of the divine and spiritual. Shezad Dawood has shown at the Modern Art Oxford (2012), the National Museum (Taiwan, 2011), the Harris Museum (Pres- ton, 2011), Tate Britain (2010 and 2009), the Saatchi Gallery (2010) and the ICA (2005). 66 Idris Khan Born 1978 in London, UK. Lives and works in London, UK. “The Devil’s Wall: God is Great Date“ - 2011 Sandblasted aluminium, oil paint, wood - 90 cm high x 200 cm diameter 7 Idris Khan uses digital photography to transform and combine existing images, texts and musical scores. He overlays pages from well-known symphonies or books (such as the Quran) to create complex calligraphic and musical compositions. In Paradise Lost, a series of prints mounted on aluminium and based on the fa- mous text by the blind poet John Milton, Khan shows a fascina- tion for the creative power of artists tormented by doubt and despair. In the same vein, the artist also created compositions based on Mozart’s requiem composed just before his death and Schumann’s violin concerto. Khan’s cylindrical sculpture The De- vil’s Wall: God is Great is decorated with selected texts from the Quran in Arabic and English. This piece is a reference to the ritual stoning of Satan (Ramy al-Jamarat) in Mina, Saudi Arabia, that takes place on the third day of the Hajj. Idris Khan’s works have been shown at the British Museum (2012), the Guggenheim Museum (New York and Bilbao, 2010), Martin-Gropius-Bau (Berlin, 2009), the K20 (Düsseldorf, 2008), the Forum d’art contemporain (Luxembourg, 2008), the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (2006) and the Helsinki Kuns- thalle (2005). “The World of Perception“ - 2010 Lightjet print mounted on aluminium - 177.8 x 228.6 cm 8 “Paradise Lost“ - 2010 12 separate bromide prints, mounted on aluminium - 279.4 x 177.8 cm “21 Stones“, 2011 Archival ink on acid free paper - 54.45 x 54.45 x 3.5 cm 9 J. Ariadhitya Pramuhendra Born 1984 in Semarang, Indonesia. Lives and works in Bandung, Indonesia. A Preparation to dissect Matthew Charcoal on canvas - 150 x 200 cm J. Ariadhitya Pramuhendra’s charcoal drawings on canvas and sculptures manifest his interest in the quest for identity as well as his questioning of the role of the individual in society. As a Christian Pramuhendra belongs in Indonesia to a reli- gious minority; the country being predominantly Muslim. In See No Evil Pramuhendra has portrayed himself blindfold and wearing ecclesiastical attire. In representating himself in this work blind and as a religious figure, the artist tries to find a way to dis- connect himself from the public gaze, to define and affirm his own identity. 10 J. Ariadhitya Pramuhendra has graduated from the Bandung Institute of Technology in 2007, specialising in printing tech- niques. Since then he has exhibited at the Espace Culturel Louis Vuitton (2011), the Galerie Nasional (Jakarta, 2010 and 2008), the NUS Muséum (Singapore, 2007) and the National Museum of Fine Arts (Taiwan, 2006). “The faith in my hand Charcoal“ “See no Evil“ On canvas - 200 x 150 Charcoal on canvas -190 x 150 cm 11 Michal Rovner Born 1957 in Tel Aviv, Israel.