Margaret Dearing interview

Exhibition Erosions by Margaret Dearing, Elysées Mermoz Hotel, from May 24th to August 31st 2012.

Born in 1979, Margaret Dearing lives and works in Paris. She graduated from Ecole Nationale Supérieure de la Photographie d’Arles and Ecole Nationale Supérieure d’Arts de Paris-Cergy.

Main Exhibitions : Rencontres Photographiques de Solignac, 2012; Intervalle, Galerie du Pavillon, Pantin, 2011; Mois Off de la photographie, Paris, 2010; Faux-Raccord, Galerie 19, Angers, 2010; Galerie du Haut-Pavé, Paris, 2008; Fallen, F-stop International Photography festival, Leipzig, 2008; Niveau O, Galerie de l’Erban, Nantes, 2008; Yokohama VDO COLLECTION 07, Red Brick Ware House, Yokohama, 2007

1- Do you remember your first photo?

I don’t really remember the first photo I took because I didn’t discover photography at a specific occasion :  I have always been around people taking snapshots to remember moments. Realizing photography could become an artistic medium was the important moment.

2- Where do you work? How does the work on a photo begin?

I have taken a lot of photographs in neighborhoods built since the sixties, often in suburban areas or satellite towns. These were solutions to urban and housing problems, associated to the idea of social progress at the time they were imagined.

I often have an intuition about what I want to photograph. The act of photographing is for me closely linked to a form of exploration of urban areas, of landscapes. I often need to return to places I have identified as interesting and photograph them many times. It’s a sort of fascination that pushes me to photograph.

The work on a photo continues by taking the time to really look at it, to choose it, to decide if it deserves to integrate a larger corpus. Sometimes one photograph will initiate a new project.  I date my photographs according to the moment when I decide they will be part of an organized group of images.

3- If you had to choose one artwork that is a source of inspiration?

It would be the films of the Italian filmmaker Michelangelo Antonioni, more specifically his trilogy (La Notte, L’avventura, L’eclisse). These films present enigmas, his way of framing and inserting his characters in urban spaces and landscapes suggest their inwardness.

My images are like film stills from an imaginary movie that the viewer can invent, in which the landscape and the man made world have important roles.

4- Photographing is…?

Photographing is above all linked to wandering: the only aim is to observe without being in an everyday relationship to things. People often ask me where such or such photograph was taken. The titles don’t allude to the places represented and the project is not to document these places. What matters is that they are part of the world, in order to question the viewer’s perception of these types of man-made or natural environments.

Comme un ananas (Like a pineapple)

After Keith Haring in February, and Robert Doisneau in March, Guillaume Ansanay-Alex from Carpe Webem encouraged us to go and discover the carte blanche exhibition from Philippe Katerine, at La Galerie des Galeries.

© philippe Katerine

A selection of Exhibitions for the month of April 2012

Lets try something different this month. This is always a selection of exhibitions that start in the beginning of the month. I was instinctively making a selection without justification, and without seeing the exhibitions, due to matters beyond my control, I was quoting a press release. Today, what I’ll try to do with this selection is within the spirit of the house: explain this subjective appeal with one exhibition after another, and it’s in your hands to find yourself in this subjectivity or to react to it. I will leave of course links of the websites of the exhibitions, when they are available. And I’ll make sure to leave pictures, because it’s necessary to show images.

Photo credit: from the exhibition Comme un ananas Carte Blanche à Philippe Katerine. Scultpure, Galerie des Galeries, Galeries Lafayette, Paris, 2012. © Thibaut Voisin

-From April 4th, the exhibition Comme un ananas (Like a banana), free-hand to Philippe Katerine at the Galerie des galleries. Because giving a free-hand to a singer in the limits of popularity at the gallery of a big mall is spicy enough to get you there.

Photo credit: from the exhibition Comme un ananas Carte Blanche à Philippe Katerine. Scultpure, Galerie des Galeries, Galeries Lafayette, Paris, 2012. © Thibaut Voisin

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The Golden Triangle is becoming more and more appealing

Paris, the city of light, gastronomy temple, cultural estate, is also the capital of fashion. Just like London’s Regent Street and New York’s Fifth Avenue, the Champs Elysées maintain their prestigious positioning, making puppy eyes to the biggest fashion names in the world. Lets give a little tour.

Abercrombie & Fitch
In the casual-attitude country, North Americans are kings. As proof, Abercrombie & Fitch clothing has a laid-back, young, and recreational style. Did you know this? Parisians are crazy about it! Created in 1892 in New York City, Abercrombie is originally conceived for students from 18 to 25 years, touching also thirty and fifty-year-olds. What’s so special about this boutique? Their half-naked, Adonis-like muscular shop assistants welcoming you at the store entrance… The Parisian store was opened in 2010.

Abercrombie & Fitch
23, avenue des Champs-Elysées
75008 Paris
France
T.: +33 (0)1 53 76 86 26
abercrombiepariscs@gmail.com

Open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Banana Republic
A long way since 1978, the year where Banana Republic was created by Mel and Patricia Ziegler. As the travel aficionados they are, they open their first boutique with a military and safari theme. The 90s are turning point years for the brand, they steer towards a more high quality lifestyle style. In 2011, Banana opens its doors in France, in the most beautiful avenue in the world.

Banana Republic
22, avenue des Champs-Elysées
75008 Paris
France
T.: +33 (0)1 53 89 03 92

Open Monday through Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Thursday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Marks & Spencer
After 10 long years of absence, the famous English store finally made its return to France. To make a statement, while rapidly growing, Marks & Spencer chose Champs-Elysées to reestablish themselves. Lovers of the brand can now find their scones, puddings, Anglo-Indian dishes and other adored muffins since the end of 2011. Another flagship department of the French store: lingerie, of which Parisians women are crazy about, for their quality and low prices. Men and children are not left out, they have entire stands dedicated to them.

Marks & Spencer
100, avenue des Champs-Élysées et 1 rue de Berri
75008 Paris
France

Open Monday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

And you, which one is your favorite store?

Images of the performance!

For all of you who didn’t get the chance of coming to the Art en marche performance last march 31st, the Elysées Mermoz Hotel decided to share with you a video of the best moments. Cameras rolling… and action!

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Contemporary art gallery and artist-in-residence reception

Today we are heading to the north of France, more precisely to Valenciennes, to discover l´H du Siège. It was because of the participation of several of our artists (Elodie Boutry, Soo Kyoung Lee, Samuel Buckman and Jérôme Boutterin), that we got to know this very active and artsy place that’s a gallery, atelier and artist-in-residence reception at the same time. We met with Pascal Pesez, Programming Director.

Elysées Mermoz Hotel – Explain us how l´H du Siège works?
Pascal Pesez: l´H du Siège is a showcase of numerous current practices and artistic concerns in the visual arts world. For years to come (from 2012 to 2014), L´H du Siège will keep its schedule of 4 exhibitions a year. Its perspective of defending the eclecticism in their choices is always underpinned by the concern of letting a public that’s unconnected to artistic current events to become sensible to plastic arts. Every mean is worked here: painting, installations, sculpture, video, etc. Our exhibitions come in different styles: a path showing selected works of an artist made throughout the course of ten years; and a free hand of works entrusted to outside personalities committed to the acknowledgement of visual arts.

Elysées Mermoz Hotel – What opportunities do you offer to your young talents?
P.P.: The support that we show to the artists come in different forms. For example, we publish a booklet with a text about the approach of the artist, written by an art critique, and accompanied by his exhibition in our place. Since 2009, we’ve been applying the Tout à Coup for each exhibition, these are encounter spaces dedicated to discussing contemporary artistic practices and their authors, with subtle and inventive propositions that cross means like video, film, performance, writing, exchange… We are also very attentive to the circulation of works and their authors. Thereby, thanks to partnerships made within the framework of European projects, we allowed French artists to export their practices, but also allowed English and Belgium artists to expose their work or to reside at L´H du Siège. We are equally careful of respecting the copyrights and apply the right of public representation for the artists hosted in residency. We also sponsor scholarships of production and research for the artists in residency.

Elysées Mermoz Hotel – Precisely, can you talk to us about your artist residency program?
P.P.: the reception of artists-in-residence that the association has been managing for almost ten years, causes chance encounters and creates information exchange time for the artists projects proposed and developed by them. This will to host, empowers the challenge of creation and puts the artist at the center of a wide network of meaningful production that crosses and conjugates the artistic with the cultural, but also with the economic, industrial, educative, social and politic…Two types of residencies are offered: the Grande Résidence, (or Great Residency), one a year for a three month period, it offers support for work production plus one exhibition at L´H du Siège; the second one is the Résidence Coup de Pouce (or the Encouraging Residency), two a year for a three month period, reserved to young artist anxious to follow their research. This one allows them to register their practice in a certain duration of time, and make it visible thanks to meetings with professional actors and public encounters.

Open Wednesday to Saturday from 2:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., except holidays (only in exhibition periods).
Free admission.

Galerie L’H du Siège
15 rue de l’Hôpital de Siège
59300 Valenciennes
France
T.: +33 (0)3 27 36 06 61
hdusiege@free.fr

The temple for impressionist artist

Amongst the major Parisian buildings, the Marmottan Monet Museum is without a doubt one of the most beautiful. Located in the heart of an old hunting pavilion dated from the 18th century, this particular hotel handed by the collector Paul Marmottan to the Académie des Beaux-Arts (Academy of Fine Arts) in 1934. Privileged place of the First French Empire and impressionism, its devoted to the works of Claude Monet, and also showcases the legacy of his second son, Michel Monet.

Claude Monet’s most important collection in the world
Caricatures of personalities from Le Havre at Nymphéas, from the beach in Trouville to the Saint-Lazare Station, all the major works from this Impressionism pope are present here. An important collection that gave the final name to the museum. Far from displaying only the paintings of this master, it also shows the works of Edouard Manet, Edgar Degas, Auguste Renoir, or even Henri Rouart.

Berthe Morisot, the inventive impressionist
Amongst these men, a woman slides through this prestigious list: Berthe Morisot (1841-1895). The most renowned of impressionist women was never included in a Parisian retrospective up until half a century ago. The Marmottan Monet Museum redeemed itself and will be showing until July 1st 2012, over 150 pastels, paintings, watercolors and charcoals of this artist. Throughout this event, we learnt that she was the only one to mix Renoir’s design to Monet’s dissolution of forms. A good reason to discover her work, two steps away from Trocadéro.

Berthe Morisot, La Psyché ou Le Miroir, 1876 – Huile sur toile – 65 x 54 cm
Musée Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid
© Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid

Berthe Morisot, Julie rêveuse, 1894
Huile sur toile – 65 x 54 cm – Collection particulière – © Dreyfus

Berthe Morisot, Le Cerisier, 1891 – Huile sur toile – 154 x 80 cm – Musée Marmottan Monet, Paris – © musée Marmottan Monet, Paris / Bridgeman Art / Presse

Exhibition “Berthe Morisot (1841-1895)”, until July 1st 2012 at Marmottan Monet Museum.
Open Tuesday through Sunday from 10a.m. to 6p.m. Thursdays at night until 8p.m.
Closed on Mondays, January 1st, May 1st and December 25th
Full fare: 10€ / Reduce fare: 5€. Free for children under 7.

Musée Marmottan Monet
2, rue Louis-Boilly
75016 Paris
France
T.: +33 (0)1 44 96 50 33
marmottan@marmottan.com

Our Paris tips

Spring made its huge comeback. Parisians stretch their legs, the dandies dust off their Ray Bans, and this entire beautiful small world meets in the terrace of a trendy place to enjoy the very welcomed sunrays and the nice temperatures. Between shopping sprees, we meet out girlfriends in Ladurée, Angelina or in Toraya, three of the best gourmand addresses of the capital. You don’t know them yet? Discover them thanks to the Élysées Mermoz Hotel!

The best macarons
Created in 1862, the tearoom Ladurée Royale is without a doubt one of the most beautiful in Paris. With its woodworks and antique myriad of angels frescos, this chic décor it’s a true symbol of the french lifestyle. Here we can taste drinks and other pastries, but particularly the famous macaroons that come in a variety of flavors, being the rose or the orange blossom macaroons the perfect examples.

Ladurée Royale
16, rue Royale
75008 Paris
France
T.: +33 (0)1 42 60 21 79
Open Monday through Thursday from 8a.m. to 7.30p.m., Fridays and Saturdays from 8a.m. to 8p.m., and sundays and holidays from 10a.m. to 7p.m.

The best hot chocolate
In front of the Tuileries gardens, under the arcades of the rue de Rivoli, hides Angelina, one of the most chic places of the capital. In an Art Nouveau setting, you can taste the best hot chocolate in Paris. You cannot miss the signature pastries: the Mont Blanc and the homemade Lemon Cake.

Angelina
226, rue de Rivoli
75001 Paris
France
T.: +33 (0)1 42 60 82 00
angelina@groupe-bertrand.com
Open Monday through Friday from 8a.m. to 7p.m., and weekends from 9a.m. to 7p.m.

The best Japanese bakery
The oldest bakery from Japan installed in Paris since the 80´s, Toraya counts with a multitude of fans thanks to their delicate sesame cake, green tea or red bean pastry. Truly delightful!

Photo credit: Kyoto Foodie.

Photo credit: Kyoto Foodie.

Toraya
10, rue St-Florentin
75001 Paris
France
T.: +33 (0)1 42 60 13 00
f-toraya@toraya-group.co.jp
Open everyday (except Sundays and holidays) from 10.30a.m. to 7p.m.

Les Halles exalted by Doisneau

After Keith Haring on February, the Elysées Mermoz Hotel was convinced by Carpe Webem Guillaume Ansanay-Alex of going to discover Robert Doisneau´s clichés about the ancient Halles of Paris. We must confess, we don’t regret for a second our decision! We thank again this inspired and inspiring artsy blogger!

Photo credit: La marchande aux fleurs, 1968 / Atelier Robert Doisneau.

Doisneau, Paris Les Halles, in Paris´s Hotel de Ville

From February 8th to april 28th, Hotel de Ville offers a new and free exhibit, dedicated to Doisneau’s story of Les Halles life (and death?). 200 genius pictures that tell a heart warming story.

Photo credit: L’échaudoir de la rue Sauval, 1968 / Atelier Robert Doisneau.

You can feel Doisneau’s sadness by reading between the lines of his story, a story about the life of Les Halles´s market and the destruction of the pavilions thought out by Baltard, the relocation of the market and its transformation into an impersonal and sadly effective big cube, followed by the forum’s construction; here you can feel the suffering of a neighborhood who’s heart was ripped out. Les Halles market had non-stop activity; coffee shops and restaurants opened 24-7, festive on the weekends, a food market but also a job market, a miniature world where butchers, florists, clients, homeless people, prostitutes and nuns used to mingle without distinction.

At the end of the 60′s; the market was becoming to big for Les Halles, instead of rethinking a strategy and considering it like a vital organ of the neighborhood, the killed it and built in its place the Forum des Halles. A deep commercial grave with low ceilings and big signs, a place lacking friendliness and conviviality.

Robert Doisneau reveals the lives of those who lived and visited Les Halles. By the humorous titles of his pictures, he brings back to life that atmosphere of humor in the air while he was ordering a butter and jam sandwich, this humor that addressed the painful wounds that explicitly appear in his rare texts, the contempt of city planners:
Technicians are leaned over the Les Halles problem
Evil men, politicians, bank and town planner men.
They leaned over, that´s to say, they watched from above the little people become agitated.

Photo credit: Les Halles, la fête, 1968 / Atelier Robert Doisneau.

Most often, in 1950 like in 2012, the end of the month is always difficult, especially from the 5th on. The only difference between both, for Les Halles, it’s the brutal freeze of the spirit, the methodical execution of conviviality, the hygienic standardization of a population formerly known for its character.

But not everything is lost, all it takes is to take a little walk on the Seine’s banks to convince yourself about it. These banks that we wouldn’t want to see transformed into highways, but instead belonging to pedestrian Parisians. We must remain vigilant, that includes you, the reader, make an effort to revive the ancient Paris, the romans´s Paris, the Paris of your dreams. This does not cost a penny, and we could inspire native of adoptive Parisians for a longtime, we could give them experiences that will make for future books, photographs, paintings…

Exhibition « Doisneau, Paris les Halles », at Hotel de Ville until April 28th, 2012.
Open everyday (except Sundays) from 10a.m. to 7p.m.

Hôtel de Ville
Salon d’accueil de la Mairie de Paris (at the reception)
29, rue de Rivoli
75004 Paris
France
T.: +33 (0)1 42 76 51 53

Photography is coming back to the Elysées Mermoz!

Erosions presents photographs from different series that are linked by the chosen disposition in the exhibition space.

These images show suspended and in-between moments. They suggest the instant before or after an important, unexplained, dramatic event, probably decisive for the characters one encounters in the images. Emotionally distancing themselves from their environment, they seem trapped in their thoughts, as one could be prior to taking a decision and taking action.
The buildings, possible living spaces, also seem to be on hold.

The swirl of a river, the erosion of mountains or of a solitary rock island refer to the mean movements that shape landscapes, in another duration than the instant in which the characters are represented. A mineral, misty landscape gives a counterpoint, suggesting a possible exodus.

As in film-stills, from an imaginary movie, the elements visible in the photographs become clues for the viewer to create a fiction from what remains unseen.

Born in 1979, Margaret Dearing lives and works in Paris. She graduated from Ecole Nationale Supérieure de la Photographie d’Arles and Ecole Nationale Supérieure d’Arts de Paris-Cergy. Her groups of photographs present fictions evoking a separation from the man-made world. She questions the organization of contemporary landscapes and the instrumentalization of the environment, as well as her perception of architectural and urban spaces. Her groups of photographs attempt to show connections between landscape, urban spaces and individuals.

Margaret Dearing regularly exhibits her work.
Main Exhibitions : Rencontres Photographiques de Solignac, 2012; Intervalle, Galerie du Pavillon, Pantin, 2011; Mois Off de la photographie, Paris, 2010; Faux-Raccord, Galerie 19, Angers, 2010; Galerie du Haut-Pavé, Paris, 2008; Fallen, F-stop International Photography festival, Leipzig, 2008; Niveau O, Galerie de l’Erban, Nantes, 2008; Yokohama VDO COLLECTION 07, Red Brick Ware House, Yokohama, 2007

Exhibition Erosions by Margaret Dearing, Elysées Mermoz Hotel, from May 24th to August 31st 2012.

Italian Vacation on the Champs-Élysées

Have you always dreamed of an Italian dinner in Paris? The Nolita is the-place-to-be! Far away from tourist traps, this chic and futuristic place, unites design and authenticity. Here, you can enjoy art, gastronomy and nice cars at the same time. Nestled in the Fiat MotorVillage, this fabulous transalpine restaurant has been designed by the talented architect Jean-Michel Willmotte. Vittorio Beltramelli, first Italian chef stared three times in his native country, cooks exceptional dishes in kitchen. Every products come directly from Piedmont, Calabria, Sicily, and Toscany. Not to mention the amazing wine cellar which contains about hundred delicious Italian beverages.

More than a Terrace
Once on the Terrazza Fiat, the Italian way of life reassert itself, there’s anything else to do than forget time and just enjoy the moment. Overlooking the Champs-Élysées roundabout, this is, above all, THE place to see and be seen. In other words, this terrace makes you feel like in Roma, all day long.

A Brunch Al Dente
Paris suggests a large variety of brunches, and sometimes make a choice is quite hard. The Elysées Mermoz Hotel has a soft spot for the 100% Italian brunch served at the Nolita. We stare hungrily all culinary specialities displayed on a buffet: bresaola, artichokes alla Romana, mozzarella di buffala, panna cotta, tiramisu, panettone and so many others… To die for!

The restaurant is open from Monday to Saturday from 12pm to 3pm and from 9pm to 12am.
Brunch on Sundays from 12am to 4pm.
The Terrazza Fiat is open everyday from 8am to 1am.
The Motor Village is open from Monday to Friday from 11.30am to 9.30pm, from 11am to 9.30pm on Saturdays and from 11am to 7pm on Sundays.
Breakfast: €39 / Tasting Menu: €79 / Brunch à l’italienne: €39 per person.

Nolita
1, avenue Matignon
75008 Paris
France
T.: +33 (0)1 53 75 78 78
nolita@motorvillage.fr