1992 Galerie La Hune-Brenner Saint Germain PARIS (FR)

The 18th century tiles, coming from the roof of this gallery of prints and appropriately from engravings, saved during the renovation prior to hanging, form the central material of a series where wear becomes writing. Rather than restoring to erase, I operated a rehausse, gesture that retains the scars engraved by storms, shards, foams and streaks of time and transposes these marks into plastic language.
At the same time, collages and sculptures of objects torn from the urban flow of New York (found on Riverside Drive and its surroundings) prolong the reflection: socially disqualified fragments, these wastes are recomposed, juxtaposed, recontextualized to reaffirm their formal dignity. The confrontation of Parisian tiles and New York finds creates a dialogue on temporality (centuries versus moments), and on the ability of «damaged» surfaces to convey narrative and sensation.
The exhibition finally questions the notion of origin and identity of objects: how does a tile torn off from the roof of a Parisian gallery cease to be a simple material to become a witness? How does a piece of cardboard, a plate or a piece of metal become a sculpture? The work proposes an aesthetic of trace, where history is read on the surface and where the recovery becomes a poetic and political act.

                                                            Roof tiles rehausse (18th century) on the building housing the La Hune gallery !

                                                                    14 rue de l’Abbaye (place saint germain des prés) 75006 Paris (FR)

                                              Sidewalk warrior – NYC – Collage – objects found in the trash on Riverside Drive – New York (US)