Lauren Davis is based in New York. Here she talks about the exhibitions she saw recently.
My neighborhood is the home of a few independent galleries which house and rotate
an exceptional selection of art and furniture while intermittently curating exhibitions, so
there is invariably new discoveries when one has a chance to pop in or walk by. It’s
really one of the privileges that comes with the accessibility of living in New York.
Magen H Gallery just showed ‘House in Provence’, essentially a homage to Cezanne’s
eponymous painting through the lens of the traditional home in the South of France.
They depict interiors in a truly inviting manner, warm toned woods by the likes of
Guillerme et Chambron, Charlotte Perriand and Pierre Chapo. Lighting by Roger
Capron and Pierre Blanc and colorful ceramics by George Jouve and Suzanne Ramie, styled with wheat and lavender to add aroma, framed by illustrated arched windows. It
transports you to being in the Mediterranean and in my view, a home to aspire to!
You also have Demisch Danant on 12th Street where the gallerists have one of the
most compelling points of view in the French design space - and really consider the
viewer in terms of how one navigates the space - displaying works with emphasis on
the late 1950s-1970s, within environments that reference architecture and interiors of
the era yet with a truly modern sensibility, often exhibiting incredible pieces by Maria
Pergay, Verre Lumiere, Pierre Paulin, Christian Germanaz and I believe possibly the
largest collection of Sheila Hicks! Also to note; Hostler Burrows are previewing the
work of some Danish ceramic artists with a more ‘rebellious’ take to the medium. It is a
very tactile exhibition worth seeing just for the spirit lift.
I am consistently inspired when visiting Japan. A trip in 2019 led me to the
mountains of Kanagawa Prefecture which is home to the Hakone Open-Air Museum. It was founded in the late sixties to serve as a way for people to encounter art in a natural
setting. This mission to promote sculpture as an environmental art was very much in
line with artist Henry Moore’s point of view whose work is a permanent part of the
collection. In great company: works include Barbara Hepworth, Constantin Brâncuși,
Alberto Giacometti, Joan Miró and Niki de Saint Phalle.
If to be immersed with these great artists works and nature is not enough, there is also
a ‘Picasso Pavilion’ housing a collection of over 300 of the artists works, including
mediums I had not even seen at the Picasso museum in Paris - tapestry work, oil
paintings in gemmail, etchings, and metal objects. 188 of his ceramic works were
provided from the private collection of the family. The museum is invested in programs
designed to make art more accessible to children which I believe should be inbuilt into
all communities.
On the same trip we visited Hiroshi Sugimoto’s ‘Enoura Observatory’. To view
Sugimoto’s work as an architect was exquisite. The assemblage of materials,
consideration of proportions is set on the coast amongst Mikan citrus groves covering
the mountain.
There is an optical glass stage which appears to be floating on the surface of the sea, it
sits on a framework of Hinoki cypress wood scaffolding as part of a stone seated
amphitheater. Adhering to authentic Japanese carpentry, no nails, screws or glue have
been used. Parallel to this is a 70-meter copper tunnel, one hundred meters above
sea level stands the main gallery which proportionally is one hundred meters in length with a wall of Oya
stone on one side and an opposing wall made of glass panels. The sun's rays rise from the sea
and take several minutes to make their way down the full length of this space. This is
where a few of the artists large format black-and-white “seascapes” series of
monochromatic photographs live. These pictures began in 1980 depicting seas from
the Tyrrhenian to the South Pacific, photographed across two decades, they hang
along the wall in concert with panoramic views of Sagami Bay.
What exhibition are you planning to see next?
I missed Niki de Saint Phalle’s ‘Joy Revolution’ preview at Salon94 so I’ll be heading to
PS1 to see her first major US exhibit ‘Structures for Life’. Although I recently went uptown to Salon94 which everyone should make a point to
visit if not purely for the small yet grand space. Huma Bhabha’s work was captivating. I
am always attracted to the tension of contradictions. There is a beautiful vulnerability
evident despite the disturbing visual torment we are faced with in her work, much like
the current climate. Bhaha’s work is read as an homage to some of the masters whilst
being firmly relevant for our time. On the top level of this incredible space, ceramicist
A.N. Odundo’s large terracotta sculptures are on view. Odundo’s art has a level of
unpretentiousness because her work has such a highly sophisticated approach to the
purity of working with one’s hands in a singular material.
I am also looking forward to Hugh Hayden’s newest body of work at Lisson
Gallery. His instinctual visceral lens forces you to feel, think outside of yourself and
examine our place in the ecosystem and how we think about larger cultural issues.
To stay updated on upcoming interviews and gallery date features, follow @Particiipate on Instagram. Find Lauren on Instagram.
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