Selma Feriani is pleased to present a survey of sculptures and drawings by a selection of artists. This exhibition brings together late Modern sculpture alongside contemporary artists’ work to highlight the continuation of conversations between form and concept and between figuration and abstraction, often associated with Modernism. The exhibition features works by Modernist sculptors: Niki de Saint Phalle and Bernar Venet alongside that of contemporary artists Raja Aissa, Elena Damiani, Nick Hornby, Malek Gnaoui and Mohamed Namou.
Niki de Saint Phalle (French, 1930–2002) was a female sculptor and painter, famed for her joyful representations of women and large fantastical sculptures.
In 1961, she began to work alongside Swiss artist Jean Tinguely.
In 1965, Saint Phalle developed the voluptuous female form of the Nana, French slang for “woman,” which led to the commission of the vast sculpture, “She”, a cathedral for the Modern Museet in Stockholm. As she worked on brightly painted sculptures of animals and human figures, Saint Phalle conceived the idea for her Tarot Garden, a sculpture park inspired by Gaudí’s Parc Güell. After two decades of work, the garden of monumental sculpture and whimsical architecture opened in Tuscany in 1998.
Bernar Venet (French, 1941) is a notable artist, a pioneer of conceptual art in New York in the late 1960s.
He is best known for his versatility in multiple mediums, including painting, drawing, sculpture, installation, as well as stage design and musical composition. He created Graduation, a ballet performed on a vertical surface. After working on conceptual and minimalist pieces, Venet decided to cease his artistic work. He then taught art and art theory in Sorbonne. Through the late 1970s, he again began to paint and make sculptures. He exhibited works such as Documenta VI and From Nature to Art. He also began sculpting at Atelier Marioni in France in 1984. He continues to produce works in all media, including painting, music and sculptures that are exhibited across the world.
Raja Aissa (Tunisian, 1958) lives and works in Paris and Tunis.
Her works figure up among the collections of Fondation Cartier in France and the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Tunis. They explore the concept of identity and the psychological mechanisms developed in response to globalization and the rise of fundamentalism. Through mixed techniques characterized by an interplay between reflection and superposition, Raja Aissa proposes a conceptually rich and visually diverse experience, often tinted with humor and taunting.
Elena Damiani (Peruvian, 1979) currently lives and works between Copenhagen and Lima.
She creates installations, objects and works on paper that focus on the politics of space and memory. In Damiani’s practice, architecture functions as a device to represent diverse notions of landscape and society. The deconstruction and recreation of desolated and disrupted sites allow Damiani to elaborate a poetic about territory where images oscillate from a fractured historical past to fictions of a rapidly approaching tomorrow. The stone and glass in her sculptures recall the environments she studies and refracts. The monumental subject and discussions concerning memory have played a critical role in her work, which reflects today’s obsessions with memory and the archival in a society fearful of the danger of oblivion. Her work has been included in collections such as: Coleccion Patricia Phelps de Cisneros CPPC; Museo Rufino Tamayo, México City; Kadist Art Foundation, San Francisco and Kamel Lazaar Foundation, Tunisia.
Nick Hornby (British, 1980) is a sculptor living and working in London.
His work is the physical meeting of historical critique and digital technology; behind hand-crafted sculptures of marble, resin or bronze are computer-generated models, expanding shapes, silhouettes and shadows into manifest examples of the collusion between disparate ideas. Hornby studied at Slade School of Art and Chelsea College of Art. His recent presentations include CASS Sculpture Foundation, The Museum of Arts and Design New York, Mediations Poznan, Tate Britain, Eyebem New York, Fitzwilliam Museum Cambridge, Leighton House London, Southbank Centre London. He was awarded the Clifford Chance Sculpture Prize and was shortlisted as for the Mark Tanner Sculpture Prize.
Malek Gnaoui (Tunisian, 1983) is a plastic artist who lives and works in Tunis.
His training at the school of Arts and Decoration and his learning experience at the center of ceramics of Sidi Kacem Jellizi allowed him to develop a new form of artistic practice that captivates the spaces in which he performs. Between videos, ceramics, installation and performance, Malek Gnaoui tackles thorny topics about the social conditions and the notion of human sacrifice in all its forms.
His work have been in several notable institutions such as the Institute of Cultures of Islam in Paris or the Friche la belle de Mai in Marseille, but also on the occasion of events such as the festival Dream City in Tunis and the Shubbak festival in London.
Mohamed Namou (Algerian, 1987) currently lives and works in Paris where he finished his studies at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts.
His current research is based on the study of various aspects of the image, drawing the sources from the concept to its specific visibility. His work has been exhibited several times in the Galerie de l'École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts and lately part of ArtClub 27 exhibition curated by Pier Paolo Pancotto at Villa Medici, Rome.
