Résonance, Jean-Michel Basquiat et l'Univers Kongo
View of the exhibition Résonance, Jean-Michel Basquiat et l’Univers Kongo at Galerie Gradiva, Paris. Photo: Diane Arques, ADAGP, Paris, 2022. Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat. Licensed by Artestar, New York
Résonance, Jean-Michel Basquiat
et l'Univers Kongo
07.09 – 19.11.2022
Galerie Gradiva
From 7 September to 19 November 2022, Galerie Gradiva will host an unprecedented aesthetic experiment in its spaces at 9 quai Voltaire, Paris: “Résonance, Jean-Michel Basquiat et l’Univers Kongo”. This exhibition is a compelling visual dialogue between works by Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960- 1988) and a selection of imposing power figures from Kongo tradition, on loan from the Tervuren Royal Museum for Central Africa. “Résonance” is a deep dive into the heart and soul of these works.
Views of the exhibition Résonance, Jean-Michel Basquiat et l’Univers Kongo at Galerie Gradiva, Paris. Photo: Diane Arques, ADAGP, Paris, 2022. Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat. Licensed by Artestar, New York
Nkisi Nkonde “maloango” (Kongo culture), Tshela region. Wood (Canarium schweinfurthi), pigments, fetish material, mirror, nails and iron blades. Height: 71 cm Collection of the RMCA, exchanged with the Musées royaux d’Art et d’Histoire (1979), acquired from E. Dartevelle (1937)
Nkisi nkondi were powerful charms or fetishes in for certain Kongo peoples from what is now Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Republic of the Congo. Rare and costly to make, the nkisi nkondi were employed by a nganga (ritualist) to serve the needs of the community. They had several functions and were often used to cast spells, ward off misfortune, chase down evildoers and ndoki (witches) or help heal certain diseases. Closely linked to political power, a potent nkondi was a source of wealth and prestige for a village. Tribal chiefs could “hire out” their nkondi to villages without their own. When not in use in public ceremonies, nkondi were housed in special locations and placed under the watch of one or more guards.
PRESS RELEASE
Renk - Voyages sur le motif - Part II
View of the exhibition Voyages sur le motif – Part II at Villa Navara, Le Muy, France. Photo : Loic Thébaud. © Renk
Renk
Voyages sur le motif – Part II
03.07 – 15.09.2023
Villa Navarra
Following the exhibition in Paris, Galerie Enrico Navarra presents at Villa Navarra the continuation of the series Voyages sur le motif by artist Renk, by appointment only. Painted in seven places from 2020 to 2022, the last eleven canvases in the series will be displayed all summer long in this space designed by architect Rudy Ricciotti. The exhibition also reveals all the stages of their creation through videos.
Views of the exhibition Voyages sur le motif – Part II at Villa Navara, Le Muy, France. Photo : Loic Thébaud. © Renk
Born Walig Nicolet in Rennes in 1987, he started tagging in 2000 with the blaze 100REMOR after seeing a TV report about graffiti. A few years later, he met several taggers and graffiti enthusiasts during his training in communication in Bagnolet. He then changed his name to Renkar, before choosing Renk in 2007, which becomes his artist name. In 2011, after a revelation during a trip to the Sinai desert in Egypt, Renk fully dedicates himself to paintings on canvas. “One evening, while watching the sunset, Walig has an epiphanic moment. The sky and the colours seemed to speak to him. The message was clear and concise: ‘painting will be your whole life’. (David Rosenberg, Renk, Éditions Skira, 2021)
Portrait of Renk, Le Muy, France, 2023. Photo : Loic Thébaud.
Jardin, Île Vierge, Crozon, octobre 2022 (soir), 2022. Photo : Loic Thébaud. © Renk
Started in Paris, the series Voyages sur le Motif is mostly the result of several stays in Brittany. Each canvas was painted in front of nature, facing the sky, and bears the name of its place of creation: Champ de Mars, Dinard, Baie du Mont-Saint-Michel, Île-de- Bréhat, Crozon, Île Bruc, Belle-Île… Renk follows the path of the impressionists and, as they did, carries his equipment to paint outdoors, without prior sketch. He paints “sur le motif”, “on the spot”.
Self-taught artist, he uses spray paint to represent skies in which the colors fade to reveal the harmony. The sky is at the center of his search, not for its picturesque effect but to illustrate, with spontaneity, the variations of colors, shadows and lights. These works are an accumulation of his tag “Renk”, in different sizes and colors, endlessly repeated until it disappears.
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