Category: Friedman and Vallois

Amazing Mythologies From Around The World

Sitting on Fish
“If one of the figures carries a fish they carry the symbol of the cycle of life. From the first day of life, each evolves in a marine and aquatic world. A poetic way to symbolize 
the unique character of every person.” 
Philippe Brodzi
Beginning Thursday, October 10th, Friedman & Vallois will present the whimsical world of mythology by Belgian artist, Philippe Brodzki. The exhibition “Mythologies”, which consists of some 30 sculptural works in bronze and ceramic will run at the 2nd Floor Gallery until November 23rd, 2013. Busts and figures, with distant facial expressions, are typical of Brodzki’s work in ceramics and evoke the aesthetic of Etruscan mythology. Brodzki celebrates Greek and Roman mythology as he reveals clearly in “The Abduction of Europa” (pictured below). This celebrated, and global artist has been winning the hearts of international critics, and was awarded in 1996 by the International Contemporary Art Prize of the Foundation Prince Pierre of Monaco for his outstanding work.

Philippe’s technique of bronze casting, namely the lost wax technique and sophisticated patinations in the manner of ancient classical sculptors is fascinating and moving, at the same time. In addition his aesthetic and style is often reminiscent of the ancient Chinese art found in Xi’an some years ago.
Friedman & Vallois is located at 27 East 67th Street, New York City. The Opening is on Thursday, October 10th from 5-8PM.
Caroline in turban
Brodzki bird
The abduction of Europa
Copyright images from Philippe Brodzki

Meet Rachid Khimoune

Rachid Khimoune
 Photo credit High End Weekly™
Q& A
with French artist Rachid Khimoune

HEW: Why Strange Fruit?
RK: After creating the Mask and Totem series, I felt the need to create a bigger piece. Thus I was inspired by Billie Holiday’s song “Strange Fruit”. This song came to life in 1939 New York City. For me, it is invariably related to this city and the sultry  singer.

HEW: What fascinates you about African Art? 
RK: My work is more primitive art than tribal art. The message behind each piece relates to my life. The pieces are more Art Primal. The selection I’ve chosen are all recycled materials – from trees to pieces of metal. It is similar to Marcel Duchamp’s concept when he worked. The style is contemporary, the techniques are exclusively my own.

HEW: And so the message behind it is?
RK: Emotion. The reference is about life. The symbolic elements I used are water, energy, humanity.

Strange Fruit,  iron and bronze, (9 feet), 2012
Photo credit: Benjamin Didier
HEW: What’s the best part about living in Paris?
RK: Whether I’m in Paris, or Beijing, I view myself as an artist of the world. The main idea is to make a continuous connection between my work and the rest of the world. The more people I touch the better. The international language behind what you see is ’emotion’ and the capsule is art.

Rachid Khimoune’s “Gaulois” Totem, 2007, wood, iron and bronze. Right: Grand Masque, 2007,
mixed media on canvas, H: 85″ x W: 47″
Photo credit High End Weekly™

HEW: Conveying emotion through one’s work does make a strong conviction, yes. Your family came to support you at the Friedman & Vallois Gallery in New York during your opening. Tell me, what was the most exciting feeling you shared with your wife, whom I was told is an emblematic figure in the Opera world in France?
RK: My children and close friends did attend the opening, and it was very important for me to have them with me. My “compagne” for over 20 years now was there as well. Ève produces festivals, and is responsible for launching the career of French soprano, Natalie Dessay here in New York. Ève Ruggiéri stresses emotions with the ears, and I with the eyes. We complete/fulfill each other with both of our own realm of creativity.

Let’s Meet at Vallois!


Rachid Khimoune next to his Strange Fruit Installation 
Out & About
Friedman & Vallois hosted a successful art opening this past Thursday evening at their posh gallery location on East 64th Street. For the very first time in New York, an exclusive showing of French artist Rachid Khimoune‘s avant garde pieces were on display. The exhibition opened on November 8th and will run until December 21. Look for my brief interview with the artist tomorrow morning. And for additional images of the party, visit our Facebook page.

Rachid Khimoune, Robert Vallois
Margaret Le Coze (Le Bernadin) Rachid Khimoune, Eve Ruggieri
Barry Friedman, Patricia Pastor
Eve Ruggieri

Eve Ruggieri (center) and her friends
Thanhyen Nguyen
Patrick de Bourgues, Rachid Khimoune, Alexandra de Grece, Nicolas Mirayantz
Laurence Fayard
Alex Barlow, Karim Khimoune
Elodie Giancristoforo
Kahina Khimoune and friend
Photo credit Benjamin Didier

A New Identity

Cheska Mask by Rachid Khimoune

The art exhibitions at Friedman & Vallois have always held my interest. So imagine how pleased I was to learn that the gallery, best known for their exquisite art deco furnishings, were getting ready to showcase an exclusive major art exhibition of French artist Rachid Khimoune starting next week Thursday, November 8th until the 21st of December. This is a big deal because the last time Khimoune was in the big apple showcasing his work, the year was 1986, when the New York City harbor celebrated a selection of French artists on the occasion of the centennial of the Statue of Liberty.


Rachid Khimoune is a self proclaimed “assembler”. His art work is so entrenched in the history of tribal art, that at first glance, one will think it has been around for decades on end. He deftly uses materials which he qualifies as being miscegenation, a melding of a sort. With the use of manhole, he keeps on reminding his fans and critics of the poetic license of every single human expression, similarly the discarded wall outlet, or other salvage material are offered a new life from their insignificance. The materials that he uses mirror and embody the philosophy that the minority can have a positive influence in the majority. His recylced materials look and feel like the real thing. His work further suggests that knowing oneself, there’s no more room for fear. And so by working with these items, Rachid has truly found his true identity.
Small Bull
Tortoises
On the occasion of this exhibition, Rachid Khimoune will be presenting a recent series of totems, masks, and tortoises. He expressed this dramatically in June 6, 2011, when he installed a thousand tortoises on Omaha Beah, commemorating the landing of Allies in France marking the beginning of the conclusion War War II.
Wedding Groom Mask
African Woman
The Couple Masks

Rachid Khimoune will be present at his opening reception on Thursday, November 8th from 6 – 8 PM at Friedman & Vallois: 27 East 67th street, NYC, NY 10065. RSVP at: 212 517 3820.

Out On The Town





P E O P L E   &   P L A C E S

The Kota Ancestors Opening Reception
by Bernard Dulon at Friedman & Vallois

Mr Bernard Dulon is pausing in front of an extremely rare double-sided ancestor reliquary figure.  It stands adjacent to two astonishing and very old male and female effigies that are completely covered in hammered metal of Bakota origin.


Photo courtesy Remy Amezcua for Friedman & Vallois

 
Mr. Dulon has published an exhibition catalog in which he speaks of collecting and exhibiting Kota Art over the years, and he specializes in Tribal Art in Paris.  The Kota Ancestors exhibition held at Friedman & Vallois will be shown in Galerie Bernard Dulon in Paris during Parcours des Mondes Gallery walk from the 6th to the 11th of September 2011 in Saint Germain des Près.
Photo courtesy Remy Amezcua for Friedman & Vallois
Photo courtesy Remy Amezcua for Friedman & Vallois
Kota Ndasa reliquary figure – Congo, 19th Century.
Photo courtesy Remy Amezcua for Friedman & Vallois
Photo courtesy Remy Amezcua for Friedman & Vallois
Photo courtesy Remy Amezcua for Friedman & Vallois
 Mrs. Jacqueline Trouillot Amezcua, and VSP
 Mrs. Jacqueline Trouillot Amezura, Mr. Michael McConkey, 
Mr. Franck Hall, and and Mr. Remy Amezcua

Mr. Bernard Dulon dedicates this exhibition to the memory of the anonymous artists who invented a flamboyant architectural style which still attracts and fascinates beyond geographical and cultural boundaries.

The Kota Ancestors on view now until June 11, 2011
Friedman & Vallois
27 East 67 Street
New York, NY 10065
Tel:  212.517.3820
www.vallois.com
Georgetti’s party at The Plaza Hotel Penthouse
 Breathtaking views from the $35 million penthouse’s master bedroom
Ms. Adele Nino, and Mr. and Mrs. Arlati

Artemide’s party at the Andaz Hotel
 Mr. Karim Rashid
Sous Chef, Mr. Gerard Spezio

Wanted Design at La Venue
photos by High End Weekly™

Poetry of Time at Van Cleef & Arpels

 Mr. Larry Schaffer
 Mr. Bartolomeo Bellati
Master watchmaker, Mr. Jean-Marc Wiederrech

Country Figures in the Metropolis

“There is a history in all men’s lives”
William Shakespeare
Henry IV, Part 2, Act 3, scene 1, line 75

Starting Wednesday, May 11, until Saturday, June 11, Friedman and Vallois, an art deco gallery in the upper east side, will present one of the most comprehensive and illustrious exhibit on tribal art called The Kota Ancestors. In view of the fact that some museums and galleries in the city have all together ceased to feature African and Asian art, and instead opted for more contemporary art work (this is mainly due to the high cost incurred by most African and Asian exhibits), I can comfortably say that this display is a breath of fresh air, and it will certainly attract some of the most ardent art lovers.

The Kota Ancestors Exhibition is from the private collection of Bernard Dulon, an art collector, and dealer from Paris.  Dulon will be at the gallery during the opening reception on Thursday, May 12th between 4 – 8 PM.

Who were the Kota people? 
They were made up of numerous smaller groups of folks who practiced ancestor worship.  That simple fact was the foundation of their art.  Throughout eastern Gabon, this sort of thing was widely practiced, and their art forms are connected in one way or another to the veneration or storage of ancestral remains.  In some respect, what makes Kota art so different is the fact that they are unique and distinctive, as they are made of reliquary figures with stylized heads covered in copper sheeting.

When you visit the Friedman & Vallois gallery during the Kota Ancestors Exhibit, you will step into the world of a very old, and revered tribe of people, who were both remarkable and unique.  Altogether the collection is made up of twenty pieces from the nineteenth Century culled from an esteemed private collection.

Friedman & Vallois

27 East 67 Street
New York, NY 10065
212.517.3820
www.vallois.com
www.expertiseartafricain.com

This exhibit coincide with the inaugural of the Tribal Art New York/Africa Oceania Americas from Thursday, May 12 – Sunday, May 15, 2011 from 11am – 9pm.  Th participating galleries are:

Tambaran Gallery:  5 East 82nd Street, NYC
Alaska on Madison:  1065 Madison Avenue, NYC
John Molloy:  49 East 78 Street, NYC
John Giltsoff at Mallett:  929 Madison Avenue, NYC
Bernard Dulon at Friedman & Vallois:  27 East 67 Street, NYC
Galerie Schoffel-Valluet:  34 East 67 Street
NASSER & Co:  34 East 67 Street, NYC
Bruce Frank Gallery:  215 West 83 Street, NYC
Pace Primitive:  32 East 57 Street, NYC
www.aoany.com

KOTA RELIQUARY FIGURE
Mahongwe people Gabon 19th century wooden frame
with copper and brass plates

Tribes of the Kota Obamba group would place a copper and brass plated wooden figure on top of their ossuaries which then took the generic name of mbulu ngulu (literally basket with a figure).  Each piece was given its own name, thus implying an actual attempt at physical portrait.
KOTA RELIQUARY FIGURE
Obamba people Gabon 19th Century wooden frame
with copper and brass plates
KOTA RELIQUARY FIGURE
Obamba people Gabon 19th Century wooden frame
with copper and brass plates
 RELIQUARY FIGURE OR MBULU NGULU
Kota-Obamba people, Gabon 19th Century wooden frame
with brass and copper

Gallery of The Month: Friedman & Vallois




T H E   K O T A   A N C E S T O R S   E X H I B I T


Undoubtedly one of the finest exhibition for the month of May.  The Kota Ancestors will reign supreme at the elegant, art deco gallery of Freidman & Vallois from May 11 to June 11, 2011.











We will have an exciting coverage, and will present a blow by blow account of the story behind this much anticipated show that is rightly aligned with the Africa Oceania Americas Tribal Art of New York. Stay tuned.