Press Release - Galerie Esther Woerdehoff

Press Release
Exhibition:
03.11 – 19.12.2015
Opening Reception:
Tuesday November 3rd 2015, from 6 pm to 9 pm, the artists will be present
Marc Sommer and Laurence Demaison
“Paul Valéry said : the fake added to the truth makes it faker than fake. Long live Marc
Sommer who offers us theses jewels of images, so natural in their impossibility that we
always feel the presence of real.” Patrick Bailly-Maître-Grand
Esther Woerdehoff Gallery is pleased to show the works of two photographers! Marc
Sommer and Laurence Demaison, black and white for her and colors for him, a longtime acquaintance and a new discovery!
Laurence Demaison, represented by the gallery for 20 years, introduced us to Marc
Sommer’s work. A long-time friend of Laurence Demaison and Patrick Bailly-Maître
Grand, he also lives in Strasbourg. Laurence convinced him in showing his photographs
for the first time to the public.
Marc Sommer is a real discovery! Self-taught photographer, Marc Sommer developped
over many years a work of great consistency flirting with absurdity and without ever
showing it. In this photographic work where reality is invented from scratch and
orchestrated with a little help from his relatives, surrealistic objects and characters
mingle in order to be staged. A complete novelty, this remarkable work describes a
world of paradox, where fantaisy and an unexpected and cruel sense humor always
linger.
Theses recent years, Laurence Demaison has focused her research towards a broader
visual approach, exhibiting her drawings and making sculptures, in a universe very
close to her photographic series she is so well-known for. She now uses dummies as
models for some of her photographs, which enables her to exceed the limitations of
self-portrait and to invent spectacular scenes. Thanks to her great mastery of black and
white photography, from shooting to the printing process, the photographer plays with
the limits of the medium like with her monotypes, direct self-portraits lighted with flash
turned into unique and bright pictures. For this exhibition, the photographer selected
some of her recent work and photographs she calls “small parachutes”, images from
inachieved series or isolated pictures she printed from rediscovered negatives.
“Every young child takes an extreme pleasure to feel the drama of his mother’s
dissapearance when she plays hiding her face with her hands, but he or she is immediatly
reassured when her gentle smile appears again under the veil of her hands. It’s a game
of possible - impossible . It’s just a game for a laugh...
We remain a child when we savour the playful and impossibles pictures by Marc
Sommer, where a rabbit may be hiding himself in a cup or a candle curbs itself to burn
upside down. The photographer is an expert in conjuring tricks, both absurd and poetic.
Totally in touch with reality , he refuses the too easy evidences of digital collage (like
Photoshop) - he actually build his artifices with the tools of reality and even take care to
leave a few of his mecanical tricks visible.” Patrick Bailly-Maître-Grand
GalerieEstherWoerdehoff
36 rue Falguière
75015 Paris - France
For any inquiries, please contact Sabine Guédamour by email at [email protected]
or by phone at +33 (0)9 51 51 24 50
Tel : +33 09 51 51 24 50
mar. - sam. 14h - 18h
www.ewgalerie.com
[email protected]
1
GalerieEstherWoerdehoff
Press images
Marc Sommer, Les lois de l’amnésie, 2008
Pigment print, 70 x 60 cm, edition of 7
The use of images is exclusively reserved for promotion of the exhibition and valid up to
three months after the end date of the exhibition.
Obligatory mention: © Marc Sommer, Courtesy Galerie Esther Woerdehoff
GalerieEstherWoerdehoff
36 rue Falguière
75015 Paris - France
Tel : +33 09 51 51 24 50
mar. - sam. 14h - 18h
www.ewgalerie.com
[email protected]
2
GalerieEstherWoerdehoff
Press images
Marc Sommer, Deviance, 2014
Pigment print, 50 x 40 cm, edition of 12
The use of images is exclusively reserved for promotion of the exhibition and valid up to
three months after the end date of the exhibition.
Obligatory mention: © Marc Sommer, Courtesy Galerie Esther Woerdehoff
GalerieEstherWoerdehoff
36 rue Falguière
75015 Paris - France
Tel : +33 09 51 51 24 50
mar. - sam. 14h - 18h
www.ewgalerie.com
[email protected]
3
GalerieEstherWoerdehoff
Press images
Laurence Demaison, Untitled, monotype N°3, 2015
Gelatin silver monotype, 80 x 60 cm, unica
The use of images is exclusively reserved for promotion of the exhibition and valid up to
three months after the end date of the exhibition.
Obligatory mention: © Laurence Demaison, Courtesy Galerie Esther Woerdehoff
GalerieEstherWoerdehoff
36 rue Falguière
75015 Paris - France
Tel : +33 09 51 51 24 50
mar. - sam. 14h - 18h
www.ewgalerie.com
[email protected]
4
GalerieEstherWoerdehoff
Press images
Laurence Demaison, Dans les nuages N°5, 2013
Gelatin silver print mounted on aluminium, 45 x 61 cm, edition of 7
Laurence Demaison, Le studio, 2011
Gelatin silver print mounted on aluminium, 42 x 53 cm, edition of 7
The use of images is exclusively reserved for promotion of the exhibition and valid up to
three months after the end date of the exhibition.
Obligatory mention: © Laurence Demaison, Courtesy Galerie Esther Woerdehoff
GalerieEstherWoerdehoff
36 rue Falguière
75015 Paris - France
Tel : +33 09 51 51 24 50
mar. - sam. 14h - 18h
www.ewgalerie.com
[email protected]
5
GalerieEstherWoerdehoff
Biography
Artist
Marc Sommer
Born in 1970 in Strasbourg, where he still lives and works today, Marc Sommer
pursued at first administrative, commercial and financial studies in Nice, and then
went to Heidelberg and Vienna to study German literature. From 1996, he regularly
travelled in Eastern Europe and began practicing analog photography as an amateur. In
2005, he completed his first novel, La Pratique du patin à glace par mauvais temps.
In 2007, he began working with digital photography and, in 2010, encouraged by the
photographer Patrick Bailly-Maître-Grand, he started his first important series under
the title The apologists.
As a self-taught photographer, Marc Sommer has been creating his own universe for
several years, but without showing any of his pictures to the public until now. He creates
a universe where invented objects go alongside characters within staged scenes, often
involving his own relatives. Completely brand new, this amazing body of work describes
a paradoxical world, filled with fantasy but also with cruel and unexpected humor.
Refusing the easy use of Photoshop, the photographer patiently built his composition
with a great formal requirement. Highly symbolic, his photographs are like visual
parables - deliberately disturbing - about the human condition, fed with the artist’s
empathy and irony.
Every young child takes an extreme pleasure to feel the drama of his mother’s
dissapearance when she plays hiding her face with her hands, but he or she is
immediatly reassured when her gentle smile appears again under the veil of her hands.
It’s a game of possible - impossible . It’s just a game for a laugh...
We remain a child when we savour the playful and impossibles pictures by Marc
Sommer, where a rabbit may be hiding himself in a cup or a candle curbs itself to
burn upside down. The photographer is an expert in conjuring tricks, both absurd and
poetic. Totally in touch with reality , he refuses the too easy evidences of digital collage
(like Photoshop) - he actually build his artifices with the tools of reality and even take
care to leave a few of his mecanical tricks visible.
Paul Valéry said : the fake added to the truth makes it faker than fake. Long live Marc
Sommer who offers us theses jewels of images, so natural in their impossibility that we
always feel the presence of real.
Patrick Bailly-Maître-Grand
GalerieEstherWoerdehoff
36 rue Falguière
75015 Paris - France
Tel : +33 09 51 51 24 50
mar. - sam. 14h - 18h
www.ewgalerie.com
[email protected]
6
GalerieEstherWoerdehoff
Biography
Artist
Laurence Demaison
Born in 1965, Laurence Demaison learnt on her own photography around 1990,
after studying architecture. She tried to take photos with models for two years, but
she turned to making self-portrait in 1993, a decision that profoundly changed her
research. The intent is not to magnify an unknown body, but rather to hide or alter
her own. Laurence Demaison uses all the technical possibilities analogic black and
white photography can offer, playing with exposure time, blurring, the contrast or the
negative, to create intriguing and unusual images, without manipulation after shooting.
In this experimental quest around her own appearance, the graphic aspect of the image
is increasingly important. The series follows another, constantly renewing her approach
through an artistic work that is both extremely versatile and consistent.
Solo exhibitions
2015
Galerie Esther Woerdehoff, Paris, France
2014
Galerie Domi Nostrae, Lyon, France
2013
Oeuvres récentes, Galerie Esther Woerdehoff, Paris, France
2011
La Filature, Mulhouse (with Patrick Bailly-Maître-Grand), France
2008
Galerie Esther Woerdehoff, Paris, France
Galerie BMG, Woodstock New York City, USA
Centre d’Art Contemporain de Lacoux, France
2006
Galerie Esther Woerdehoff, Paris, France
2005
Hantises, Château de Linardié, France
Laurence Demaison ?, Musée d’Art et d’Histoire, Cholet, France
Espace Photographique Contretype, Brussels (with Patrick Bailly-Maître-Grand),
Belgium
2003
Musée d’Art Moderne et Contemporain* and Galerie Kahn*, Strasbourg, France
Galerie Baronian-Francey*, Brussels, Belgium
Galerie Esther Woerdehoff, Paris, France
Galerie Lucien Schweitzer, Luxemburg
2002
Galerie Baudoin Lebon*, Paris, France
Atelier Soardi*, Nice, France
GalerieEstherWoerdehoff
36 rue Falguière
75015 Paris - France
2001
Galerie Esther Woerdehoff, Paris, France
Galerie Zoo, Strasbourg, France
Personne, Institut français de Stuttgart, Germany
Tel : +33 09 51 51 24 50
mar. - sam. 14h - 18h
www.ewgalerie.com
[email protected]
7
GalerieEstherWoerdehoff
1999
Stimultania, Strasbourg, France
1998
French Institute Dresde, Germany
Espace Lézard, Colmar, France
1997
Rhinocéros, Strasbourg, France
* Exhibitions organised by the CCF Foundation for Photography with Rip Hopkins
Group exhibitions
2014
Slick Attitude, Galerie Esther Woerdehoff, Paris, France
Caravana Negra, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Galerie Chantal Bamberger, Strasbourg, France
2013
Galerie Yves Iffrig, Strasbourg, France
Turbulence II, Boghossian - Villa Empain, Brussels, Belgium
Art Paris Art Fair, Galerie Esther Woerdehoff, Paris, France
2012
Paris Photo, Galerie Esther Woerdehoff, Paris, France
Féminitudes, Clermont-Ferrand, France
2011
Madridfoto, Galerie Tagomago, Madrid, Spain
SWAB, Galerie Tagomago, Barcelona, Spain
Aipad, Galerie Esther Woerdehoff, New York City, USA
Black and white, Michel Soskine Inc, Madrid, Spain
Corpus delicti, In Extremis, Strasbourg, France
Galerie Immix, Paris, France
2010
Un autre regard sur la collection photographique du MAMCS, Strasbourg, France
Art Paris, Galerie Pascal Vanhoecke, Paris, France
Sexe et convenances 2, Galerie Pascal Vanhoecke, Paris, France
Affordable Art Fair, Galerie BMG, New York City, France
2009
On portrait, Kunstagenten Gallery, Berlin, Germany
Masks, Sungkok Art Muséum, Seoul, South Korea
Paris Photo, Galerie Esther Woerdehoff, Paris, France
Art Elysées, Galerie Lucien Schweitzer, Paris, France
Mois européen de la photographie, Galerie Lucien Schweitzer, Luxemburg
Faire avec, Maillon Wacken, Strasbourg, France
2008
Nouvel accrochage du cabinet d’art graphique et photographique, Musée d’art
moderne et contemporain de Strasbourg, France
Miradas, Michel Soskine Inc, Madrid, Spain
GalerieEstherWoerdehoff
36 rue Falguière
75015 Paris - France
Paris Photo, galerie Esther Woerdehoff, Paris, France
Empty Paradise, Fotomuseum, The Hague, The Netherlands
AIPAD, Galerie Esther Woerdehoff, New York City, USA
Art Cologne, Galerie Esther Woerdehoff, Cologne, Germany
Tel : +33 09 51 51 24 50
mar. - sam. 14h - 18h
www.ewgalerie.com
[email protected]
8
GalerieEstherWoerdehoff
2007
S’tart, galerie Lucien Schweitzer, Strasbourg, France
Etat des lieux, Strasbourg, France
Paris Photo, Galerie Esther Woerdehoff, Paris, France
Fondation HSBC pour la photographie, Rencontres d’Arles, Arles, France
Festival Couleur café, Brussels, Belgium
Déshabillez moi, NKA Gallery, Brussels, Belgium
Photo London, Galerie Esther Woerdehoff, London, England
Dfoto, Galerie Michel Soskine INC, San Sebastian, Spain
Art Cologne, Galerie Esther Woerdehoff, Cologne, Germany
Art Bruxelles, Galerie Michel Soskine INC, Brussels, Belgium
Art Paris, Galerie Esther Woerdehoff, Paris, France
Vanité, NKA Gallery, Brussels, Belgium
Sexe et convenances, Galerie Vanhoecke, Paris, France
2006
Paris Photo, Galerie Esther Woerdehoff, Paris, France
Art Cologne, Galerie Esther Woerdehoff, Cologne, Germany
Photo London, Galerie Esther Woerdehoff, London, England
Art Paris, Galerie Esther Woerdehoff, Paris, France
Face à face, La galerie photo, Montpellier, France
7 photographes, Galerie Michel Soskine INC, Madrid, Spain
2005
Paris Photo, Galerie Esther Woerdehoff, Paris, France
Art Cologne, Galerie Esther Woerdehoff, Cologne, Germany
Fiac, Galerie Esther Woerdehoff, Paris, France
Musée d’art moderne et contemporain, Strasbourg, France
Star’t, Galerie Schweitzer, Strasbourg, France
2004
Paris Photo, Galerie Esther Woerdehoff, Paris, France
Fiac, Galerie Esther Woerdehoff, Paris, France
Art Cologne, Galerie Esther Woerdehoff, Cologne, Germany
Art Bruxelles, Galerie Esther Woerdehoff, Brussels, Belgium
Je t’envisage - la disparition du portrait, Musée de l’Elysée, Lausanne, Switzerland
2003
Paris Photo, Galerie Esther Woerdehoff, Paris, France
Art Basel, Galerie Esther Woerdehoff, Basel, Switzerland
Art Bruxelles, Galerie Esther Woerdehoff, Brussels, Belgium
Cara a Cara, Lisbon, Portugal
2002
Les Lauréats du CEAAC 1988 - 2002, St’Art, Strasbourg, France
Das andere Gesicht, Altonaer Museum, Hambourg, Germany
Art Cologne, Galerie Esther Woerdehoff, Cologne, Germany
Tête à tête, Galerie Schweitzer, Luxemburg
FIAC, Galerie le Réverbère, Paris, France
Paris Photo, Galerie Esther Woerdehoff, Paris, France
Art of the 20th century, Gallery Claude Bernard, New York City, France
2001
Les Lauréats du CEAAC 1988 - 2002, St’Art, Strasbourg, France
Paris Photo, Galerie Esther Woerdehoff, Paris, France
GalerieEstherWoerdehoff
36 rue Falguière
75015 Paris - France
2000
Exp’ose, collectif itinérant Alsace, France
Tel : +33 09 51 51 24 50
mar. - sam. 14h - 18h
www.ewgalerie.com
[email protected]
9
GalerieEstherWoerdehoff
Paris Photo, Galerie Esther Woerdehoff, Paris
1999
Portrait de corps, Galerie Kahn, Strasbourg, France
Awards and Grants
2002
HSBC Award
2001
Grant from the Alsace and Bade Wurtemberg residency in Stuttgart
2000
Grant and laureate for CEAAC
19974
Grant from DRAC Alsace
Collections
Musée d’art moderne et contemporain, Strasbourg, France
Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Paris, France
Fondation François Schneider, France
Staatsgalerie of Stuttgart, Germany
Maison Européenne de la Photographie, Paris, France
Artothèque in Vitré, France
Monographs & publications
(Selection)
Personne, auto-edition, Blurb, 2012
Laurence Demaison, monography, le caillou bleu éditions, Brussels, 2005
Laurence Demaison, Centre européen d’actions artistiques contemporaines,
Strasbourg, 2005
Laurence Demaison, Prize Fondation CCF pour la photographie, Actes Sud, 2002
La Recherche, special issue (January 2003)
Personne, monograph, French Institut Stuttgart, 2001
GalerieEstherWoerdehoff
36 rue Falguière
75015 Paris - France
Tel : +33 09 51 51 24 50
mar. - sam. 14h - 18h
www.ewgalerie.com
[email protected]
10
GalerieEstherWoerdehoff