Josèfa Ntjam and LVMH Métiers d'Art : Une Cosmogonie d’Océans

Posted

 

As I already explained in a November 2023 post, Josèfa Ntjam is a young artist I first came across when helping with preparations for Alternating Currents, the inaugural exhibition at Parallel Circuit, in Tehran. Her work was to be included in the exhibition, and I found myself translating the text of one of her videos (as it happens, later shown at FRAC Ile de France's 40th birthday exhibition, Gunaikeion, in Romainville), so it could be subtitled for Iran, and taking a train to her home town to pick up some works (cushions) for dispatch there. I've taken an interest in her work since then.

In 2023, Josèfa was selected to spend a year in residence with LVMH's Métiers d'Art program, the aim of which is to bring top-level artisans and young artists closer together. Josèfa spent her year with an organisation called the Jade Groupe, and, as the LVMH Métiers d'Art website explains, 'envisioned sculptures nearly two metres high, even though the company is specialized in small components and jewellery for major luxury houses. This challenge of scale was compounded by technical and production difficulties that prompted Jade technicians to rethink their tools, design and production processes, and range of materials, colours, and finishes… Josèfa Ntjam’s works in metal are produced in colours which were hitherto unthinkable for the artisans of Jade Groupe, acquired by LVMH Métiers d’Art in 2021.'

The residence led to Une Cosmogonie d’Océans, a 5-day exhibition of fascinating metal works in a disused building near the Bourse in Paris. I went along yesterday, the first day of spring both on the calendar and in reality - suddenly the blossom is out, Paris is warm and café terraces are packed - and indeed Noruz for my Persian friends.

Next step for Josèfa is 'Swell of Spæc(i)es', an exhibition, at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Venezia & Palazzina Canonica, due to run in parallel to the Venice Biennale this year. This link is to an introduction to the upcoming Venice exhibition.

This link is to an explanatory text, in English, about Une Cosmogonie d’Océans, on the LVMH Métiers d’Art website.

And here are some of the photos I took at the exhibition.









Added in May 2024: Josèfa has, since her exhibition opened in Venice, been getting a lot of good press. Here's a link to an interview in Wallpaper.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Paris tips: visiting

Posted
Image
  Note : this post and the April 28 one, about eating out, were written for American friends visiting Paris, one of them for the first time, who wanted a few tips from a local. They were staying in a hotel just off République... ***** I guess you'll have your own guide book to help you plan your visit. But whichever one (or more) it is, I thought you might find the Michelin Green Guide 's tourist map of Paris (below) helpful, as it makes it easy to locate the main sights. I think you'll find if you click on the map, it will blow up to a more legible size. The inset box at top left explains Michelin's ratings system, similar to its approach to restaurant ratings. With a decent guide book, you won't need much help from me, but I just wanted to add one or two items that visitors might miss, plus an idea for a north-south walk (or south-north, as you wish) that makes a change from the usual main east-west (or west-east!) drag. Also, finally, one neglected but unique mus
Read more

Paris tips: eating out

Posted
Image
Note : this post and the April 30 one, about things to see, were written for American friends visiting Paris, one of them for the first time, who wanted a few tips from a local. They were staying in a hotel just off République... ***** THREE STRONG RECOMMENDATIONS These are the three places I'd most strongly recommend during your visit, as I think they offer a nice variety of quality Parisian eating experiences. 1. Dinner at Le Train Bleu When the underlying idea was to recommend places off the tourist track, it might seem odd to start with Le Train Bleu, at the Gare de Lyon. But this is surely one of the most extraordinary restaurant spaces in the world. You can only experience it in Paris, of course, and I usually take any first-time visitor there for dinner. It's Lyon-influenced brasserie food at more-than-brasserie prices, but they have simple set-price menus at 55 and 74 euros, and anyway, as usual, the final bill depends above all on what you drink. It's worth it (and
Read more

Anna Uddenberg: an interesting new development

Posted
Image
Anna Uddenberg is a Swedish artist whose work has, I think, something quite original, distinctive and perceptive to say about the image of women in certain, specific currents of consumer culture that might otherwise be overlooked. I hadn't seen much of her recently, but she now has an exhibition, at her Berlin Gallery, Kraupa-Tuskany Zeidler (or K-T Z), of totally new works focusing, this time, not on women but on men. The resulting woodcarvings are an interesting and quite surprising development, and add to what seems to be almost a 'fashion' for reliefs in art at the moment. This is the link to the new exhibition, 'Big Baby' , at K-T Z. This is the link to a video about the new work, on Vimeo , but the video is also on the gallery website. This is the direct link to the page about Anna Uddenberg on the gallery site. The following are some photos of Anna Uddenberg's new and previous work, 'borrowed' from K-T Z.
Read more