Recent trip to Rennes was to attend the varnissage of Kevin’s solo exhibition at Galerie 126. Kevin Pinsembert aka Christ is a recent graduate from ENSCI (an industrial design graduate school), an artist, a graffiti writer, the tallest member of Moderne Jazz, foremost a friend, always curious, finds beauty everywhere. Really everywhere. He is also a avid sketcher. If you ever run into him, you’ll most likely see him sketching on his often homemade sketchbook with a black fine felt-tip pen. I always enjoy going through it – his shaky lines, mirrored writings, some graffiti, some drawings, often sketches of ideas, some pure shapes…
This exhibition titled <CADRES> is his first solo show, and simply put, it is a blow up 3D version of his sketchbook in color. I love it.
The exhibition is finished, sorry, but you can see more photos of the exhibition here and the photos of his residency at Galerie 126 preparing for this exhibition here, and you can follow his instagram account here.
Ishem Rouiaï is an impressive and charismatic guy, who on a normal day wears a judogi top and boxing shorts with a fox fur around his neck, then only an hour later he would change into his leopard print tank top and flashy jogging pants. But foremost, Ishem is a generous, warm, easygoing friend. Also he is a very talented artist who currently lives in Marseille and a member of Moderne Jazz.
This September, after his short residence at Galerie 126 in Rennes, he had his solo exhibition titled <AGRUM’ LEMON>. I was happy to be there for the vernissage.
Check out the photos of his residency here for all the interesting behind the scene photos. Also check out the zines he made during his residency here and here. And of course follow Ishem on his site, Instagram and tumblr.
Early September, already more than a month ago, Mattie and I arrived at Galerie 126 in Rennes to prepare for our Amateurs exhibition. The following ten coming days, we lived in a grand humongous house adjoining the gallery space. I’ve already posted the photos of the exhibition, but I thought to share those ten days before the exhibition, which in many ways is more special for me.
When Galerie 126 first asked Amateurs to exhibit there, I was very flattered. Mattie had done many exhibitions before, however it was first for me. It’s been only two or three years since I started making some art pieces as a side fun, and I only dreamed of doing a show maybe in the far far away future. So I was pretty thrilled.
For those who don’t know Galerie 126, it is a house-turned-art-residency and a garage-turned-art-gallery in Rennes. Four loveliest boys in town – Toto, Louis, Hugo and Quentin – who live and run the gallery, invite artists from all over the world to stay with them for a few weeks and have an exhibition at the end of the stay.
Yup, it is quite a special place with special people : )
Dying fabrics for the flags.
The main flag, which is seriously big ; )
There are two cats there. This is Luke, the coolest cat I ever met. Strangely I don’t have any photos of Buba, the three-legged-half-tailed-cat, who is equally cool and oh so soft with a touch of sassiness (strange because I take photos of every animal I encounter).
The epic raclette night.
Printing of our T-shirt which you can get here ; )
Making of giant mikado.
The opening day.
Our exhibition got extended one more week till the end of this week. So go play the last game of mikado before it really ends : )
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Galerie 126 126 Avenue Général Leclerc
Rennes, France
Amateurs’ first solo exhibition kicked off like the film above. Giant flags Mattie and I made during our 10 day residency at Galerie 126 were hung high, and we turned the gallery into a mikado play room, decorated with small sculptures. If you have already passed by the gallery to see our show and played a game of mikado, I’m flattered. If you haven’t because you are too far away from Rennes, here is a little tour for you.
Mattie and I of AMATEURS have been living in 126 Gallery in Rennes for the past 10 days, preparing for our very first solo exhibition. We’ve been making giant flags and giant mikado. We still got many things to do, but the opening is tonight! Hence, this will be a quick post.
Here is the text (in French) written by our good friend Guillaume Pellay about us for the exhibition (translated by his good friend Donnie Ka).
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Bordeaux, Troyes, Paris ; Seoul, Los Angeles, Treviso, Amsterdam, Paris ; we’re gonna have to clear things up a bit before we start talking about Rennes.
Mathieu Julien and Jin Angdoo, amateurs ; Jin Angdoo and Mathieu Julien, amateurs. It’s crazy : it works both ways. Let’s start from here then, from what brought them together in Paris, as a tandem, like this vehicle which carried them from bivouacs to duck soups these past few summers, on the roads of Southwestern France.
The rest of the year, they share an appartment : the theater in which their little enterprises take place. It asks for a rigorous organization – it’s always the case in exiguous parisian spaces. Mathieu and Jin paint and cut, sew and dye, borrowing technics and machines here and there. They engage in long and repetitive tasks with craftsman-like patience and a certain savoir-faire, based on a blend of handymen common sense, pure observation, and Youtube tutorials. They design various items, not mere sculptures or paintings. Our Amateurs are not petty amateurs, but people who got rid of this adjective and freed from this qualification, a qualification too often summoned as a gross opposition to the science of professionalism.
Each time, their project is directed toward a finished object. The Amateurs share a common appreciation for plain shapes, for colors clashing in big shades, for abstract compositions spawning a need for contemplation. They share a sharp sense of harmony, of trimmed details. For them, it seems like the « how » is as important as the « why » : the constant need for thinking, learning new technics, and shaping, is inherent to their dynamics. Mathieu will write texts with a photosensitive mixture or create compositions with felted wool onto jumpers. One day, Jin will write a choreographed piece for colored rocks, small enough to fit between her fingers. The next day, she will sew large cotton flags, almost bigger than herself : banners without ideology, only spreading the beauty of their own composition. Together, they create tote bags, each of them unique, made of hundreds of shapes, cut in cloth and pieced together.
Their art fits in a household environment,. They float between two worlds, originating both in art and craftsmanship. In that sense, their approach is a reminder of the 19th century Arts & Crafts movement in Great Britain : people who tried to bring art and daily life together by working on furnitures and everyday objects, creating the idea of design in the process.
The 126 is a group of friends with an incredible energy, all living in the 126, avenue Général Leclerc in Rennes, a huge house that gave them their name. 126 is also the name of the gallery they set up in their garage, where they’ve been curating amazing events and exhibitions for more than two years now. By inviting Amateurs, the Galerie 126 is definitely establishing a rule : every re-opening in September will be the time for a Moderne Jazz exhibition. This past summer, Mathieu and Jin also did a voice-over for a short documentary about this team of graffiti artists they’re part of. It was produced by Arte Creative TV. In this video, Jin speaks a perfect english, way too natural to be faked : it comes from her childhood, spent somewhere in the vastness of Los Angeles. As for Mathieu, he spent his youth in Bordeaux, and it’s a bit less obvious.
In Rennes, they will present a body of work that will clearly exceed the usual space of exhibition. Precise and ambitious works, way too precise and ambitious, even, not to overshadow the modesty of their authors : Amateurs.
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If you are in Rennes, join us tonight for the opening and a game of giant mikado : )
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Galerie 126 126 Avenue Général Leclerc
Rennes, France
“Amateurs” vernissage on Sept 18 at 18.30
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I'm Jin Angdoo.
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