Contemporary Art: Impressions From Film Noir @ Richard Taittinger New York

 

(Drivebycuriosity) - New York`s Lower East Side was once the slum of the metropolis, filled with sweat shops; now the neighborhood is one of the fanciest districts of the metropolis and a symbol for gentrification. A legion of bars, pubs & restaurants and flocks of drunk college kids gave LES the image of a party mile.

 

But the LES also has an artsy and attractive side: More than one hundred art galleries choose to be in this area - thanks to more affordable rents. In the recent years LES became a contender to Chelsea where usually the big classy art dealers reside. Richard Taittinger Gallery, owned and founded by a heir of the French Champagne empire Taittinger (at 154 Ludlow St. taittinger), belongs to the ambitious LES galleries. The gallery, which specializes in the works of mid-career artists, occupies 5,000-square-foot 154 in a space formerly used by the music venue the Living Room (bloomberg). The Wall Street Journal praises the 20-foot-high ceilings which allow Taittinger to present large-scale museum-quality works (wsj).

 

Recently I enjoyed there an exhibition with works by the French artist  Jacques Monory (exhibition). I display here my favorites (with detail shots), a very subjective selection as usual.




                             Cinematic Effects

 

Apparently the artist is influenced by cinema, especially by film noir.  Most of the paintings look like movie stills, scenes from stylish thrillers. The curators write: "Throughout his prolific career, he has been celebrated as a pioneer of the 1960’s French movement, Narrative Figuration. His work, along with the movement, was developed out of an opposition to the informal painting that typified the era".

I love that his paintings show sometimes different versions of an image & an idea and that they blend photorealism with ghostlike images.

 

The curators also write that Monory`s "ability to seamlessly integrate cinematic effects within oil paintings goes beyond presenting sequential narratives and complex characters on his canvases. Monory’s works present a duality, as they are often autobiographical. While the scenes are rarely representational of his real life, they embody depictions of his “other” life, his many alternative egos".

 

I would like to see this film.

 

The painting above is a tribute to Edward Hopper.

Stay tuned.