MAGeNtA - Art contemporain en Languedoc

LANGUeDOC-rOUssiLLON reGiONAL CeNter OF CONteMpOrAry Art
press Kit
NiNA CHiLDress
MAGeNtA
Nina Childress, Crying 2, 2014
6th FebrUAry 2015 - 31st MAy 2015
preview 6 th FebrUAry 2015 at 6:30pm
Curator Noëlle tissier
press visit
th
6 february at 5pm
Director
Noëlle tissier
[email protected]
press contact
sylvie CAUMet
[email protected]
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Press release
Nina Childress creates a painting based on strong antagonisms, mixing the beautiful/ugly, the
authorised/dissident, the appropriate/déclassé, the harmonious and the dissonant.
the works of Nina Childress presented for her exhibition at the Centre régional d’art contemporain
are part of her recent pictorial work from the period 2011 to 2014.
More than twenty paintings accompanied by large digital print runs, nourished by an iconography
coming from popular culture and cinema from the 60s and 70s, bringing together the human figure,
the nude, the dramatisation of the body. Nina Childress conjugates formats and media to stage
collections of paintings in large spaces dedicated to her project. the voice of the tenor Alan vanzo
conducts the visitor throughout the artist's installation towards the last room at the heart of a video
device immersing everything in a circulatory space bathed in fluorescent pink, punctuated with little
paintings
"Fascinated by painting, Nina Childress uses it like a visual trap, simultaneously seducing and
troubling, crystalline and saturated. the malaise undoubtedly comes from the destabilisation of the
observation but also from the discontinuity that exists between our projections and the reality of life
(…). this work is falsely conventional, subverting the forms of an apparent classicism, which makes
the painting lead the dance, and throws light on what Nina Childress said one day: 'painting is to
photography what a concert is to a recording".
Céline Mélissent
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peindre des colonnes vertébrales (ou comment j'ai focalisé sur un détail anatomique dans Les nudistes
de Nina Childress) [painting spinal columns (or how i focused on an anatomical detail in Les nudistes
by Nina Childress](extract)
she was in a plaits period and then started on spinal columns. Note, from the plait to the spinal column
there is a certain continuity. both are a succession of elements that are repeated and which form an
elongated structure. except that one cannot plait spinal columns and there is no capillary hernia. in
short, Nina Childress painted spinal columns for a while after having painted plaits for a good while.
One could put it like that.
when one sees someone's spinal column it is usually because they are naked. And also from the back.
thus, we could deduce that Nina Childress paints naked people from behind. which is true but not
the whole story. More precisely, Nina Childress paints groups of naked people, often from the back,
who are doing ordinary banal things as if they were fully clothed. For example, playing volleyball,
having a picnic under a large parasol, drinking while lounging on a chaise longue or even chatting
while sitting on lawns. the men have well-groomed short hair, women have chignon buns or dressed
hairstyles. the men are standing straight holding their stomachs while the women are bending their
heads a little while modestly crossing their legs. Amongst them we can find Cary Grant and Grace
Kelly who would continue to play opposite each other on the set after being completely undressed.
the new paintings or tableaux from Childress are inspired by "nudies", those small budget films often
made in nudist camps (it's practical) from the end of the 1950s to the middle of the 1960s and saddled
with expressive erotic titles such as "Gentlemen prefer Nature Girls". As, at the time it was impossible
to show genitalia in this type of production, it was consequently necessary to be crafty whilst filming
actors from the front: and yes! i hand you a slice of watermelon and that hides my pubis and whoops!
you pass me the cafetière and that will hide your penis! All this while harbouring silly smiles in the
manner of rock Hudson or Doris Day. in the majority of cases, a leg modestly raised or a judiciouslyplaced plant solved the problem. but, all the same, in this type of film a lot of people are shown naked
from behind! whence the abundance of spinal columns.
what is interesting about these spines, is that they are logically, and if all goes well, followed a bit further
down by a pair of buttocks. in the series "Les nudistes" by Nina Childress the bottoms are pale and
tender, one could say like marshmallows. Nothing in common with the sculpted, tanned bottoms that
one sees in contemporary magazines. same goes for the breasts: they have a soft and smooth look,
some droop a little, far from the Cavaillon melons grafted onto current torsos. At that time silicon
was used to fabricate electronic microchips, not for constructing aerodynamic busts.
"Les nudistes" shows bodies that have scarcely begun to become liberated. skirts and trousers have
been allowed to fall, but a certain reserved manner is maintained as if one were drinking tea in the
living room of a great-aunt. it is the pivotal era between the “square” of the recently ended eisenhower
era and the “cool” of the hippie period which would follow a few years after.
Fabienne rADi
(complete text on the Mamco website)
© Fabienne radi and Mamco
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Crying 1, 2014, 300 x 400 cm, acrylic on Kraft stuck on wood
staying in the shade, 2013
46 x 55 cm, oil on painting
exhibition, 2014, 60 x 81cm, oil on painting
playing volley, 2013, 38 x 46 cm, , oil on painting
Contour, 2011 162 x 114 cm Oil and acrylic on painting
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NiNA CHiLDress
ninachildress.com
Biography
born in pasadena (eU).
works and lives in paris.
bernard Jordan Gallery in paris
PERSONAL EXHIBITIONS (selection since 2008)
2015
Magenta, Centre régional d’art contemporain Languedoc-roussillon, sète
La Galerie Américaine, Marseille, Fr.
2014
Jazy, hedy et sissi, La Halle des bouchers, vienne, Fr.
Les nudistes, Galerie bernard Jordan, paris, Fr.
2013
Der grüne vorhang, Heinz Martin weigand Gallery, berlin, De
Le triangle des carpathes, Galerie iconoscope, Montpellier, Fr.
2012
Umriss, Galerie bernard Jordan, Zürich, CH.
2011
L’effet sissi, Mamco, Genève, CH
L’enterrement, Galerie bernard Jordan, paris, Fr.
2010
Die grüne kammer,Heinz Martin weigand Gallery, Karlsruhe, De
La fille verte, Galerie de l'ecole d'Art, valence, Fr.
2009
en première loge, Galerie apdv, yvon Nouzille, paris, Fr.
Détail et destin, Mamco, Genève, CH.
La haine de la peinture, Frac Limousin, Limoges, Fr.
tableaux / bilder, Galerie bernard Jordan, Zürich, CH.
2008
(rvb) , Galerie iconoscope, Montpellier, Fr.
GROUP EXHIBITIONS(EXPOSURES) (selection since 2010)
2015
Janvier : Femina, pavillon vendôme, Centre d’art contemporain de Clichy, Fr.
Février : tableaux, Conversations sur la peinture, Frac Limousin, Limoges, Fr.
2014
Autres narcisses, Galerie du théâtre de l’Union, Limoges, Fr.
Optical sound 1,2, Lage egal, berlin, De.
partition des passions, espace Gred, Nice, Fr.
sinon, le chaos, Appartement, paris, Fr.
Choices, Galerie de l’eNsbA, paris, Fr.
blanc/Childress/Gredzinski, espace Gred, Nice, Fr.
Drapeaux gris , Galerie backslash, paris, Fr.
Le syndrome de bonnard, villa du parc, Annemasse, Fr.
2013
Le regard du bègue, MAMCO, Genève
La maison des artistes, Musée des beaux-Arts, Limoges, Fr.
Métamorphose(s) 1883-2013, Centre d'art contemporain walter benjamin, perpignan, Fr.
Draw by law 2, espace Gred, Nice, Fr.
Nouvelles vagues, palais de tokyo, paris, Fr.
A hauteur d'oreille, Galerie MAD, Marseille, Fr.
Le grand tout, Frac Limousin, Limoges, Fr.
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2012
ricochet, skimming stones, Galerie Municipale Jean Collet, vitry sur seine, Fr.
Drawing room, Carré saint Anne, Montpellier, Fr.
biens communs ii, MAMCO, Genève, CH.
pavillon, Galerie Domi Nostrae, Lyon, Fr.
peinture surface, L.A.C, sigean, Fr.
Le spectacle de la nature, Domaine Départemental de la Garenne Lemot, Clisson, Fr.
2011
Narrative, critique, libre,...Frac Limousin, Limoges, Fr.
paillettes, prothèses, poubelles, (with Anita Molinero et emmanuelle vuillard), sala
san Miguel, Fundacion Caja de pensiones, Castellon de la palma, es.
si loin si proche, L’imagerie, Lannion, Fr.
Femme objet femme sujet, CAC, Maymac, Fr.
3 jahre zürich, Galerie bernard Jordan, Zürich, CH
Courbet contemporain, Musée des beaux-Arts, Dole, Fr.
Hello good bye thank you, again and again, Galerie Castillo Corrales, paris, Fr.
round and round and round (part 2), parc Culturel de rentilly, bussy saint Martin, Fr.
en satellite, Galerie du XXème siècle du Musée des beaux-Arts, valenciennes, Fr.
ecce hommo ludens ii, Musée suisse du Jeu, La tour de peilz, CH.
2010
brune/blonde, Cinémathèque Française, paris, Fr.
electro géo, Frac Limousin, Limoges, Fr.
tenir debout, Musée des beaux-Arts, valenciennes, Fr.
Laisse les gondoles (with Didier trenet), Galerie iconoscope — Montpellier, Fr.
Le carillon de big ben, CreDAC, ivry, Fr.
Des jeunes gens modernes, espace Art 22, bruxelles, be.
parade, Collection du Frac ile de France, les routes de France, Fr.
Gruppenausstellung, Galerie bernard Jordan, Zürich, CH.
Jeunes pousses, Frac Languedoc-roussillon, Montpellier, Fr.
PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
FrAC bretagne
FrAC ile de France
FrAC Limousin
FrAC Languedoc-roussillon
MAMCO
sérignan (City)
valognes (City)
Dôle (City)
Fond Cantonal d'Art Contemporain de Genève
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Useful information
Lr reGiONAL CeNtre OF CONteMpOrAry Art
26 quai Aspirant Herber
F-34200 sète
t: 33 (0)4 67 74 94 37
F: 33 (0) 4 67 74 23 23
http://crac.languedocroussillon.fr
[email protected]
OpeNiNG HOUrs
Open every day from 12.30pm to 7pm
and weekends from 2pm to 7pm
Closed on tuesdays.
Free entry for everyone
DireCtOr
Noëlle tissier
[email protected]
At the heart of the Languedoc-roussillon region, located in sète on
the banks of the royal canal, the regional Centre of Contemporary
Art opens out onto the Mediterranean. its architecture offers an
exceptional exhibition space in a former industrial building. Architect
MEDIA RELATIONS AND PARTNERSHIPS MANAGER Lorenzo piqueras has restored this original site to give it its current
configuration, in which the stepping stone effect produced by the
sylvie CAUMet
different room heights characterises the exhibition areas.
[email protected]
04 67 74 9679
06 80 65 59 67
the CrAC Lr bases its project on the artistic and historic, economic
and tourist communication channels that cross from north to south
and east to west. Dedicated to artistic creation, its programme
features temporary exhibitions, with specific projects created on site.
eDUCAtiON serviCe
it encourages international partnerships offering everyone the ideal
vanessa rOssiGNOL
[email protected]
opportunity to explore current creations. Finally, it shines a light on
04 67 74 89 69
the crossover between the different disciplines which make up the art
- spoken tours, saturday - sunday at 4 pm
of today and tomorrow through the discovery of new works.
- Guided tours each day
- Family tours with free discovrey for children
- tour and workshop for children, friday to 2.00pm - 3.30 pm simultaneously an area for production, research, experimentation
and exhibition, to date the CrAC has presented over six hundred
- Choreographyc course about exhibitions
booking required : +33 (0)4 67 74 94 37
artists from the national and international stage.
to see 14th march - 7th june
LANGUeDOC-rOUssiLLON reGiONAL MUseUM OF CONteMpOrAry Art iN seriGNAN.
146 avenue de la plage - 34410 sérignan -tél. : +33 (0)4 67 32 33 05 - [email protected]
- « Le Musée des erreurs : barnum », pierre Leguillon
- « Les rituels du dessin », Carte blanche à la revue de dessin roven
- « portrait de l'artiste en jeune homme », Nouvel accrochage des collections
- « il suffit de son bras soulevé pour arrêter et faire reculer le soleil », eléonore False
Noëlle tissier, director, curator - Manuelle COMitO, administrator - Cédric NOËL, exhibition manager - patrice bONJOUr, web - Martine CArpeNtier, secretary Karine reDON, documentation manager, visitors service - vanessa rOssiGNOL, education service - Cécile viGUier, Chantal serieX, Art teachers appointed by Délégation
Académique aux Arts et à la Culture ( academic delegation for the arts and culture) in the educational servive - sylvie CAUMet, media relations and partnerships manager.
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