Monique Wells, Co-founder of Discover Paris!
and Dorothy Polley, Owner of Dorothy's Gallery
in front of works by Henry Miller
(c) Discover Paris!
November at Dorothy’s Gallery finds Dorothy hosting an interesting mix of artists, from abstract to surrealist, from figurative to photographic. The exposition, entitled De Henry Miller aux jeunes artistes d’aujourd’hui, features eight artists, and includes three serigraphs by the late Henry Miller. Known primarily as a novelist, Miller was also a painter who turned out several thousand watercolors in his lifetime.
The exposition contains three photographs of Miller taken by the late French photographer Denise Bellon. Two show Miller with his third wife Eve McClure, while the third shows him with French writer Joseph Delteil.
Isabel Meyrells produces sculptures in bronze and terra cotta. Ten of her works are placed around the gallery and seem to pop into and out of one’s visual field to demand attention like little elves in a forest. Her Autoportrait is a bronze Chinese dragon tamping his pipe with his finger. When I asked her why she thought that the dragon resembled her, she replied that this was a good dragon that inspires good sentiments and does not frighten. In another room, her sculpture of a dolphin shedding large tears as it climbs a flight of stairs gives one pause for thought.
Isabel Meyrelles with Her Autoportrait
Thomas Levy-Lasne is the only artist at this exposition who represents figurative painting. He produces images with ambiguous themes, such as Marie, a comely, large-breasted woman dressed only in denim pants. While one might be tempted to think that she is available, the artist explained to me that her facial expression indicates she does not want to be desired. Levy-Lasne’s Vacance portrays a group of three young people awkwardly positioned on a sandy roadway on a beach. The idea that they might actually be enjoying their vacation seems improbable.
Vacance by Thomas Lévy-Lasne
Mariano Angelotti paints landscapes devoid of people. His haunting Piscine, a scene that he painted when he was in the south of France, depicts a swimming pool that overlooks the Mediterranean Sea on a moonlit night. His painting Route portrays a two-lane highway thrusting through the Patagonian countryside, giving a keen impression of the remoteness of that part of the world.
Mariano Angelotti with Landscapes
The three other artists, with whom I did not get a chance to talk, are Artur do Cruzeiro Seixas, whose surrealist images show humans and animals in various stages of transformation; Benjamin Marquès, whose imaginary cartographs conjure up images of continents that might be very dangerous places to visit; and Emmanuelle Fèvre, whose painting entitled Obama for President recalls those hopeful days in 2008 when change was in the air.
Dorothy’s Gallery
27, rue Keller
75011 Paris
Metro: Bastille
Open from Wednesday to Saturday from 1:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. and Tuesday and Sunday from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
The exhibition ends on November 29, 2010.
