Nazanin Pouyandeh, Uprising of black souls, 195 x 295 cm, h/t, Courtesy of the artist, Sator and Adagp gallery, Paris
In an old hangar on rue de Thorigny – that of the Espace Topographie de l’art – the exhibition “Warrior women, women in combat” celebrates International Women’s Rights Day 5 from March 2022. And this, with an involuntary sense of timing, given its title which strangely resonates with the news of the moment...
Maryline Terrier, Escape of the Sabines, graphite pencil on paper, 50×70 cm, 2020, Courtesy H Gallery Paris, Courtesy Private collection, Boston
In reality, this exhibition is above all “dedicated to the very great visual artist Isabelle Lévénez, who died in 2020”, as auctioneer Isabelle de Maison-Rouge explains. Together, these two women had brought together eleven artists and above all eleven “warriors”, “who are there to make their voices heard and resonate with the spectators”. Among them: the famous ORLAN, French feminist visual artist. Known for her ability to shake up gender norms, she sweeps away the norms of patriarchy with great intelligence. We of course remember his brilliant work “The Origin of War”, representing an erect male penis and echoing the painting by Gustave Courbet.
ORLAN, The Origin of War, 1989 – 2012, c-print, diasec on dibond, Courtesy of the artist and Adagp, Paris and Ceysson & Bénétière gallery © ORLAN
In this joyful selection, we also find Corine Borgnet who made an impression with her “size 37” chicken bone shoes in 2018, or even Maryline Terrier with her splendid painting “Victoire des Amazones” from 2021.
With each their own style, the eleven artists aspire to make a voice, a look, a path heard, without claiming to definitively express what art produced by women corresponds to. The exhibition, however, questions visitors and highlights the specificity of a female artist in relation to and what one could not find in the works of male artists.
Corine Borgnet, Eternal Loves, The Waspière, 2018, Poultry bones Courtesy of the artist ©Photo Atelier Find Art et Adag, Paris
“Warrior woman, powerful women” is therefore a tribute, or rather “femmage” to use ORLAN’s words, to feminine strength and its creative power. Underrepresented in museum collections around the world, women have their say in art. And this exhibition proves it: their fight continues.
The artists: Corine Borgnet – Céline Cléron – Rachel Labastie – Léa Le Bricomte – Isabelle Lévénez – Milena Massardier – Myriam Méchita- ORLAN – Nazanin Pouyandeh – Maryline Terrier – Brigitte Zieger.
Exhibition “Warrior women, women in combat”
Topography of art space, from March 5 to May 7, 2022
15 Rue de Thorigny, 75003 Paris
Open Tuesday to Friday from 14 p.m. to 19 p.m.
Closed Mondays
Tel: +01 40 29 44 28
Text: Morgane Joulin
03.03.22
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