May 3, 2012 ... LES FEMMES QUI LISENT SONT DANGEREUSES. Bronze, edition of 8 - 84 x 46
x 41 cm - 33.1 x 18.1 x 16.1 in. SONATA EN NU MINEUR.
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May 2012, Opera Gallery Singapore plays host to three of the art world’s most stunning examples of what it is to bring established creative talent and commanding competence to the table. It is rare to be able to experience a juxtaposition of such esteemed artistic talent, and all three artists so seamlessly combined. Juxtaposition of art and artists has many pitfalls, one may outshine the other, one or more can get lost in the aesthetic ether, but in this case, we have no such issue. All three artists command our attention. All three are totally accessible yet so thorough in their technique that they are outstanding to behold. We could perhaps describe this as pure art, art of the order that needs no tale to support it, and has all of itself to give the viewer. Paul Alexis is an artist that runs with a very contemporary aesthetic which also flows with Fine Art’s purest and most refined notes. Alexis’ canvasses are mysterious, silent, yet deeply moving in their conception. Faces emerge with grace and humility from the canvas or from the metal upon which the artist often also works. Deconstructed and like souls emerging from a fog, Alexis has a mastery of concept as well as form. Marie-Madeleine Gautier is also exceedingly well- established in her creative sphere. Confident, beautiful, swaying and curvaceous are her figures and the luscious contours that possess her material, causing her figures to single-handedly manipulate light. Each new entity wraps itself around the viewer even more mesmerizing and uplifting as you stand in their collective presence. Alexandre Zakharov seems never to put a creative foot wrong. A true master of the painterly arts, Zakharov’s canvasses are worlds of vibrant yet detailed, positivity. His delicate figures move through stunning semi cubist landscapes at once childlike and then so breathtakingly accomplished. Converse with a bird, alight the Trojan Horse and escape to lands unchartered with this artist whose work appears as if it may have been sent to us from another era entirely, like a hybrid of expressionist spaces, with cubist leanings and sectional fauvist colourism. These three artists are collaboratively so successful because they complement each other but not only this, they also bring to life three very different perspectives on art practice and aesthetics itself. Very different ideologies are brought together but in their base elements, these three artists are masters of their very unique fields, totally competent and beautiful. This exhibition is destined to delight the most seasoned collector, the artist, art novice and critic alike.
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Paul Alexis is both the master craftsman and the obscure and illusionary artist. Born in France in 1947 Alexis has spent the majority of his life travelling if not to find a spiritual harmony then to understand his art and technique all the more fervently. His works are at once figures fleeting from view and emerging from the mist so that the viewer remains intrigued by their meaning but their expert aesthetic handling is always clear. Any viewer that passes his canvasses stops, looks again, stands back and then is driven forward by the intrigue that they promote. Is there a figure there? Or is it an illusion in paint? Preferring to work in large formats, Alexis allows his works to engulf the viewer, pure colour and obscure and ghostly forms, with the joy of recognition within a few blissful moments of intrigue. Sometimes it is Gandhi that lurks in the painterly shadows, sometimes Marilyn Monroe, but there is absolutely something to be taken from the visual journey. Alexis is a creative tempter and toys with camera obscura to exceedingly clever ends. Paul Alexis is not only a talented artist himself but is President of the Salon Comparaisons of Paris, the institution that showcased the greatest artists of recent centuries, Yves Klein, Arman, Niki de Saint Phalle and Serge Poliakoff. He is Knight of the French National Order of the Legion of Honour and also Knight of the French Order of Arts and Letters.
Cecilia, hommage à Vinci Oil on canvas and wire netting - 140 x 115 cm - 55.1 x 45.3 in.
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Sereine Oil on canvas - 130 x 130 cm - 51.2 x 51.2 in.
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Plus que glamour ! Oil on canvas and wire netting - 150 x 150 cm - 59.1 x 59.1 in. 7
Le Che (green) Oil on canvas and wire netting - 140 x 115 cm - 55.1 x 45.3 in.
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Tomato Campbell’s soup Oil on canvas and wire netting - 140 x 115 cm - 55.1 x 45.3 in. 9
Madonna (grey) Oil on canvas and wire netting - 140 x 115 cm - 55.1 x 45.3 in.
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Betty Boop Oil on canvas and wire netting - 140 x 115 cm - 55.1 x 45.3 in. 11
Gandhi R10 Oil on canvas - 130 x 130 cm - 51.2 x 51.2 in.
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Gandhi Oil on canvas and wire netting - 134 x 117 cm - 52.8 x 46.1 in. 13
Lincoln l’âme américaine Oil on canvas and wire netting - 140 x 115 cm - 55.1 x 45.3 in.
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La Liberté et le monde ? Oil on canvas and wire netting - 140 x 115 cm - 55.1 x 45.3 in. 15
Marie-Madeleine Gautier, known as MMG, was born in Normandy in 1956 and attended the Beaux-Arts Paris. For over 30 years Gautier has been working with her art and with her clear talent to hone it to the beautiful calming and influential sculpture that it is today. In each and every piece, Gautier actively celebrates nature’s curves. She is thoroughly collectable and a master in her field. Her figures may be preconceived as being heavy, a burden on the plinth perhaps, but they are far from this and herein lies Gautier’s talent. Just as with the painting, she has spent many years working on how to release the figure from the medium, make it one with the world around it, and not only an object but an individual, a beautiful being. Her works can be found in major private collections around the world as well as museums and at auctions. She has exhibited in the US, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia.
Danseuse de Nankin Resin, edition of 30 - 168 x 80 x 50 cm - 66.1 x 31.5 x 19.7 in.
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La Douleur Bronze, edition of 8 - 87 x 60 x 23 cm - 34.2 x 23.6 x 9.1 in.
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L’Éléphant Bronze, edition of 8 - 33 x 14 x 19 cm - 13 x 5.5 x 7.5 in. 19
Les Femmes qui lisent sont dangereuses Bronze, edition of 8 - 84 x 46 x 41 cm - 33.1 x 18.1 x 16.1 in.
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Sonata en nu mineur Bronze, edition of 8 - 56 x 105 x 29 cm - 22 x 41.3 x 11.4 in. 21
On ne sait jamais de quoi hier sera fait Bronze, edition of 8 - 45 x 31 x 27 cm - 17.7 x 12.2 x 10.6 in.
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Pantomime Bronze, edition of 8 - 62 x 19 x 33 cm - 24.4 x 7.5 x 13 in. 23
L’Éveil Bronze, edition of 8 - 75 x 54,5 x 36 cm - 29.5 x 21.5 x 14.2 in.
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Elle donne de la matière au temps Bronze, edition of 8 - 57 x 22 x 13 cm - 22.4 x 8.6 x 5.1 in. 25
Et après Bronze, edition of 8 - 54 x 31 x 16 cm - 21.3 x 12.2 x 6.3 in.
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Le Baiser III Resin, edition of 30 - 160 x 101 x 101 cm - 63 x 39.8 x 39.8 in. 27
Alexandre Zakharov was born in 1960 in Kiev, Ukraine and was by no means an eloquent and settled youth. To look at his artwork now is to see him as being calm and expertly trained, which is true, but he is definitely not a run of the mill artist. In the 1980s he moved to New York and immediately struck success and moved on to further heights in the 90s. Having more frequently returned to his home in his later years he has matured yet further in technique and his works continue to stun his collectors and provide awe for the new viewer. Zakharov’s canvasses are a mix of cubist styling and imaginative childlike figures and creatures, all conceived within a mature backdrop with an essence of foreign lands. From one canvas to the next, the artist tantalizes with vibrant yet an always earthy palette, depth comes from the handling of the paint and the area over which is applied. Avant -garde and totally thrilling, Alexandre Zakharov is a collector’s favourite and a visual delight. His works have been exhibited internationally in Europe, Israel, South Africa, Hong Kong, Seoul, Singapore and USA.
The red island Oil on canvas - 120 x 160 cm - 47.2 x 63 in.
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Finistère Oil on canvas - 120 x 160 cm - 47.2 x 63 in.
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Volterra Oil on canvas - 120 x 130 cm - 47.2 x 51.2 in. 31
The Rain Oil on canvas - 120 x 160 cm - 47.2 x 63 in.
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The white night Oil on canvas - 80 x 140 cm - 31.5 x 55.1 in. 33
Sisters Russian girls Oil on canvas - 120,5 x 115,5 cm - 47.4 x 45.5 in.
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The Dream Oil on canvas - 150 x 150 cm - 59.1 x 59.1 in. 35
Provence, Luberon Oil on canvas - 120 x 160 cm - 47.2 x 63 in.
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The Wanderer Oil on canvas - 120 x 160 cm - 47.2 x 63 in. 37
Night flight Oil on canvas - 110 x 120 cm - 43.3 x 47.2 in.
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