This is Part II of my Paris gallery report with the focus of installation art. Aside from Lee Bul‘s show at Galerie Thaddeus Ropac and a fun group show of functional art at Galerie Hussenot, most of the installation shows at Paris were what I call a “floor” art show, where some ready-mades (raw canvas, empty frames, etc.) are either laid flat on the floor or leaned against the wall with the ostensible purpose of examining the legacy of Minimalism and Duchamp with a renewed emphasis on the exploration of materials. These strategies was already becoming stale in the 1970s, but there are still many artists with conceptual bent insisting on mounting these colorless and joyless exhibitions. I am not opposed to all Post-minimalist work; I thought that French artist, Eric Baudart‘s show at Galerie Chez Valentin combined the simple materiality with the artist’s personal view on the objects in a playful and sensual way that intrigued and attracted the viewers, but this work was an exception rather than the rule. Next will be my last post on Paris galleries, focusing on abstract paintings.
Kira Nam Greene’s work explores female sexuality, desire and control through figure and food still-life paintings, surrounded by complex patterns. Imbuing the feminist legacies of Pattern and Decoration Movement with transnational, multicultural motifs, Greene creates colorful paintings that are unique combinations of realism and abstraction, employing diverse media such as oil, acrylic, gouache, watercolor and colored pencil. Combining Pop Art tropes and transnationalism, she also examines the politics of food through the depiction of brand name food products, or junk food. Recently, Greene started a figurative painting series spurred by the 2016 Presidential Election, Women’s March, #metoo movement and ensuing crisis of conscience, this new body of work aspires to present the power of collective action by women.