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DOUBLE NATURE Arnaud Lebecq Gallery
June 3 to 17, 2023
Guided tour & Cocktail,
Wednesday June 14 at 7pm
Meet us on Wednesday June 14, 2023 at the Galerie Arnaud Lebecq for a guided tour of the exhibition in the presence of the artist Florian Song Nguyen, followed by a cocktail.
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The gallery Arnaud Lebecq continues its exploration of the contemporary scenes of Asia with a foray into India and Vietnam. The relationship between man and nature is complex and the diversity of its expressions constitutes an inexhaustible source of interest.
Double nature, double nature... At a time when our era imposes an imperative need to rethink our behaviors, we have chosen to present the approaches of two artists that everything seems to oppose: the Indian Avishek Sen and the French-Vietnamese Florian Song Nguyen.
Their inspiration and their boundless curiosity find seemingly contradictory expressions. They are in fact complementary. The ebullient Avishek Sen, through his colorful watercolors, reframes the dialogue between man and nature. The contemplative Florian Song Nguyen, with his intimate, quasi-scientific approach, describes nature in a naturalistic, almost philosophical way in his ink work. Beyond their apparent differences, they share their passion and deep respect for ecosystems.
By inviting us to re-imagine our perception of nature, "DOUBLE NATURE" appeals to our deepest intimacy and questions our relationship with the living.
Avishek Sen
"In my work, the non-human elements of nature occupy a central place. As the socio-economic course of human action increasingly results in the alienation of nature, my work questions the human quest for desire, faith and emancipation using images drawn from the non-human world.
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Having been born and raised in a habitat where man perceives himself as a part of nature and not as an external force destined to dominate it, I have a sense of communion with nature, which is reflected in a half-real, half-imaginary world that I create on paper."
Avishek Sen - April 2023
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Avishek Sen - Home - 2022 - Mixed media on paper Arch, 76 X 56.5 cm, Courtesy galerie arnaud Lebecq
Through his highly suggestive and sensual paintings, Indian artist Avishek Sen has always sought to highlight and reframe the conversation between man and nature. Sen's strange amalgamations of animals and plants, animals and men are metaphors for man's inescapable thirst for domination over nature. It is not surprising that naturally his breathtaking images have become metaphors for our strange times.
The thread of darkness, of unnaturalness, that runs through Sen's work makes it difficult for the viewer to quickly internalize what they are seeing. To compensate, Sen enriches his work with incredibly well-crafted ornamentation and embellishment. It's not just about achieving visual splendor - which it is - but also about making the mind more beautiful.
The embellishment reveals itself over time and through multiple re-readings of the work. Each new exploration opens new doors, as it were, doors of reference. Sen's work is characterized by a multitude of layers and references. Often at the intersection of politics and faith, often obscure, they serve as a support for the visual, which takes pride of place. These references allow the work to be viewed and rediscovered with each reading. Just as he builds the painting with layers of paint, applied thinly and repeatedly, Sen constructs the mythology and story told by the painting.
Florian Song Nguyen
Florian Song Nguyen – The Weight of Eyes #1 – 2023 – Black ink and acrylic on paper – 150 X 120 cm, Courtesy galerie arnaud Lebecq
Fascinated by questions of identity and mysticism and its invisible territories, Florian Song Nguyen uses the medium of drawing as a tool for exploration.
In the series presented, "The Weight of the Eyes", of an immense meticulousness, based on the effect of magnifying glass, he makes us fall into the minuscule. Through this new perspective, the human, reduced to the scale of the insect and the plant, discovers another world.
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"The weight of a fly on my forehead, the pain of an ant's bite, the air stirred by the flutter of a butterfly's wings.... These common, sometimes insignificant experiences; the eye does not stop, our gaze slides, we chase the fly with a backhand, we crush the ant with our thumb.
Through a documentary and imaginary exploration, in the folds of our world, I have transposed my glance on a microcosm to try to capture its essence. This world in reduction is that of insects, arachnids, gastropods, plants and the interactions between them.
​I am fascinated by the points of encounter and interdependence generated by the myths and symbols that we construct to wrap things up, to weave links with the natural and supernatural. They open up space and create a world by simply shifting the gaze. They lead me to discover new and increasingly specific phenomena, confronting me with my own ignorance of the other beings we live with…
A multitude of organisms cohabit the same territory, however, because of their own sensoriality, their experience of a common environment varies. This is the very concept of Umwelt, or "clean world" theorized by Jakob Johann von Uexküll.
The same object can be significantly different or even imperceptible to different eyes. This raises the question of the visible and the invisible, thus opening up multiple reflections linked to coexistence and modes of being in the world.
I apprehend drawing here as a meditative and reflective means; an introspective pause to try to glimpse the "own world" of other living beings, its connections with its environment, and even more, to question our relations to these universes. Through the accumulation of lines and dots, I follow the path "to be with things" and bring out forms gleaned from these paths. These are the traces of this exploration that I present as the fragmented story of an attempt to understand our environment.
"The Weight of Eyes" is to plunge my gaze into the flesh of things and to bring out sensitive forms, thus offering a world that is favourable to insects and perceptible to others.
Florian Song Nguyen - April 2023
Arnaud Lebecq, curator of the exhibition and founder of the Arnaud Lebecq Gallery
Passionate about contemporary art and by the artistic and cultural richness of the countries of Southeast Asia that he has been discovering for over thirty years, Arnaud Lebecq decided to combine his two passions. After training in art history and the art market, he created his gallery dedicated to these countries in 2019.
With a very dynamic contemporary Asian art market where galleries and collectors turn primarily to China, artists -especially from Southeast Asia- are often neglected.
The gallery has therefore decided to devote itself fully to the dissemination and promotion in France and Europe of these original, abundant artistic scenes, imbued with both local culture and a great contemporaneity in the subjects they evoke and the techniques they use.
By regularly visiting the creative studios, Arnaud Lebecq builds relationships of trust with the artists. He encourages them to share the power and originality of their creations with French and European collectors and art lovers.
The gallery supports promising contemporary artists as well as internationally recognized artists working in all types of media: paintings, drawings, sculptures, photographs, videos.
By opting for temporary exhibition spaces and participating in fairs, the gallery is part of a nomadic format. The gallery also welcomes visitors by appointment in its private space in Paris.
Dates of the exhibition “DOUBLE NATURE”:
Saturday, June 3 through Saturday, June 17, 2023.
Nocturne Le Printemps Asiatique, in the presence of the artists:
Wednesday June 7 from 7 to 10 pm
Every day from 12pm to 7pm and by appointment
(closed on Monday).
Location :
Galerie Arnaud Lebecq
7 rue des Gravilliers
75003 Paris - Le Marais.
Subway: Arts et Métiers - Châtelet
Gallery contact :
Arnaud Lebecq
Phone. : +33 6 27 74 83 31
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