Paris In New York

Sonya Sklaroff: a New York artist at Drouot Montaigne

"Last Light" by Sonya Sklaroff was sold during the March 15th Auction "Tableaux Impressionnistes, Art Moderne et Contemporain", organized by E&VE Auction House at Drouot Montaigne - Paris

"Sonya Sklaroff is inspired by the urban landscape. From her studio in SoHo she captures the energy and character of New York City. Her paintings frequently include water towers, fire escapes, street lamps, and other seemingly mundane elements of the NYC infrastructure. However, these structures are just one aspect of her paintings-- at the core of her work is a strong interest in abstraction. Sonya challenges herself with different methods of composition, contrasting elements of light and dark, complementarycolors, and negative space".
To read more about her, go to www.myartspace.com, or to www.sonyaslkaroff.com

Art Agents : G&O Art
New York - 347.739.8366 www.goartonline.com Paris - 06.20.73.11.09

Water Tower and Lamp Post, oil on panel, 30x30

Jose Van Gool's Reveries... an ode to femininity

Just few days left to see the colorful paintings of José van Gool’s .

The exhibition organized by G&O Art show the relationship between color and movement. All paintings follow, one to the next, a certain pattern. A solitary dancer, a pair of dancers, or a group of three or four are always the presumed focus of the composition. These subjects are women, strong
women, with coal black hair. The red dresses they wear, revealing brief stretches of marble-
carved shoulder, neck, and arm, suggest emotional music, a passionate sound that calls for
vigorous movement. But these paintings inhabit a movement unique to van Gool, one she
summons up through her dramatic charge of color.

José Van Gool was born the fifteen of November 1945 in Baarle Hertog (Belgium). In 1968 she
moved to Amsterdam (Netherlands) and has been living and working there since. After one year
at the Rietveld Academy, she spent 5 years at the Van Gogh Museum workshop.

The Corning Gallery at Steuben Glass
667 Madison Avenue @ 61St - Lower level, New York City
Mon - Sat, 10am - 6pm

LAST DAY: MARCH 21, 2008

G&O Art is a New York based representative agency for international contemporary painters and sculptors.
Odile Gorse and Ghenadie Burlacu's agency is an art source-expert for Private Collectors, International Institutions, Galleries, Hotels and Corporations.
http://www.goartonline.com

Embroideries by French artist Mireille Vautier

Mireille Vautier uses fragile media such as plastic bags and creates complex shapes and patterns that evoke both the intricacies of the body and the fragility of the vessel.

Mireille Vautier writes “The human body is my main source of inspiration. Its inside and outside, its wounds and its vivid memory; skeleton, organs, ex-votos, precious jewelry protected by the skin....The human body is a relic, a base for work dealing with memory.”

She graduated from the Ecole Nationale des Arts Décoratifs in Paris in 1986 and has exhibited works on paper, glass as well as her embroideries in numerous exhibitions across France. “Embroidered” will be the artist’s first one-person exhibition in the United States.

From February 14th through March 23rd

at Safe-T-Gallery in the Dumbo section of Brooklyn

Opening reception on Valentine’s day February 14th, from 6 to 8 PM.

Safe-T-Gallery Inc.
111 Front St. Gallery 214
Brooklyn NY 11201
Phone: 718 782 5920

"I am drawing, therefore I am (well, I try !)"...Serge Bloch, an illustrator that makes you smile

You only have few more weeks to go and enjoy Serge Bloch's humor at the Living Art Gallery in Soho.
Serge Bloch is a contributing illustrator to several US publications, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Time Magazine, GQ, The Los Angeles Times, Bloomberg, Scholastic, National Geographic Magazine and France Amerique: "A page of newspaper is like a wall of a gallery that hundreds of thousands of people can visit without being afraid to enter. You can be on a train, in bed or on a bench in the sun. But the exhibit is ephemeral because the following day, it's gone. It's become a piece of paper used to dry your boots or to peel vegetables". Serge enjoys doing humorous work, and refers to it as a work of modest art. http://www.sergebloch.net

Exhibition : January 31rst- February 29.

The gallery is open Tuesday to Saturday. Noon to 6 pm
or by appointment. Please call: 917 783 5737
Or email: livingwithart@mac.com

Living with Art gallery
153 Lafayette Street 7th floor
New York NY 10013

www.livingwithartusa.com

The Living Art Gallery managed by a couple of French people always have interesting artists to present. I highly encourage you to go check their exhibitions.

French Events in Manhattan, this summer

Eventhough, most of the French people living in NYC flee back to France for summer, you can still enjoy some very interesting French Events in town.

. La Comedie Francaise at the Lincoln Center : July 10 to 15th

Lincoln Center Festival 2007 will present La Comédie-Française, one of the world’s greatest theater companies, in the U.S. premiere of Les Fables de La Fontaine, directed by Robert Wilson. In Wilson’s visually striking interpretation, 19 of La Fontaine’s allegorical tales are brought to life by some of France’s finest actors. Wilson originally staged Les Fables de La Fontaine for performances at the Comédie-Française in 2004. When it was greeted with wide critical and public acclaim, the production was repeated in 2005. Featuring a company of 15 actors, Les Fables de La Fontaine revolves around the animal characters of the tales—lions, birds, foxes, and crows—with their parables of human behavior seen through the eyes of a 21st-century theatrical visionary. Performances: July 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15, Gerald W. Lynch Theater.
www.lincolncenter.org

. Bastille Day : sunday, July 15th. Noon to 6pm

On July 14, France celebrates Bastille Day and commemorates the 1789 storming of the Bastille prison, which marked the beginning of the French Revolution. New York is joining in the celebration with some fun events for the whole family: petanque, pastis, accordeon, waiter's race, French Cancan...a Street Fair with French Flair organized by The Alliance Francaise and French Tuesdays.

On 60th street from Fifth to Lexington Avenue, everyone is invited to be French for a day...

http://www.bastilledayusa.com/

. Citroen Automobiles and Velosolex motorized Bicycles Tour around Manhattan on July 15th

Have fun to look as the famous "2CV" driving down the city. Meeting point at Riverside Drive south and 122th (Grants Tomb). The route

Don't miss on TV:

. Le Tour de France : July 7th to 29th

. "France Will Never Forget"
On June 30th at Omaha Beach in Normandy, France, more than 3000 people will form a chain on the beach and write together on the sand "France will never forget. Thank you America"

Broadcast on TV on July 4th.

An Impressive Exhibition of Paintings by Claude Monet at the Wildenstein Gallery

In a very intimate atmosphere, Wildenstein Gallery has gathered more than 60 major works from all the stage of the long career of Claude Monet. Claude Monet: A Tribute to Daniel Wildenstein and Katia Granoff is the largest survey of Monet's oeuvre to be held in New York over thirty Years....

Along the three rooms, take your time to look closely to the different stage of Impressionism in Monet's paintings. The effect produced by lighting and weather conditions on the natural landscape became one of Monet’s essential concerns as the Impressionist aesthetic evolved. This aspect of his art will be very much in evidence in the exhibition’s hanging. The show also succeeds in presenting a broad range of themes, from still life compositions and depictions of members of the artist’s family to views of Venetian and Paris landmarks, such as The Tuileries Gardens, which also comes from the Musée Marmottan. A tantalizing feature of the exhibition will be the presence of several works that have rarely, if ever, been publicly exhibited or even reproduced in color.

More than a third of the exhibited works are from public collections, including five from the Musée Marmottan Monet in Paris, the largest repository of late pictures by the artist. Among the early masterpieces are The Garden of the Princess (1867, the Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin College), Still Life with Flowers and Fruits (1869, The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles), On the Beach at Trouville (1870, The Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford CT), and Woman Reading (1872, Walters Art Museum, Baltimore MD).

A quintessential Impressionist painting is The Gare Saint-Lazare, the Normandy Train (1877, The Art Institute of Chicago), one of the finest of a number of Monet’s depictions of the busy Paris train station. It contrasts with a significantly larger, more finished work such as a View of Lavacourt (1880, Dallas Museum of Art), one of his rare triumphs at the Paris Salon in the early part of his career.

Monet’s dazzling evocations of Mediterranean scenery—Villas at Bordighera and Cap Martin (1884, both lent privately)—are particularly impressive. Finally, the last decades of the artist’s career are exceptionally well represented: from Marmottan’s Rouen Cathedral, Effects of Sunlight (1892) to The Flowering Arbor (1913, the Phoenix Art Museum). And there are no fewer than four improvisations on the Japanese bridge that spanned the famous water lily pond on Monet’s property in Giverny.

An Exhibition held for the benefit of The Breast Cancer Research Foundation

April 27-June 15, 2007

WILDENSTEIN & CO., INC.
19 east 64TH Street,
New York, NY 10021
TEL. 212-879-0500

Admission : $10 per person/$5 for students and senior citizens.

Fanny Ardant in Marguerite Duras' La maladie de la Mort

Friday & Saturday, May 4 & 5 at 8pm

Acclaimed French actress Fanny Ardant makes her NY stage debut in an adaptation of Marguerite Duras’ short story La Maladie de la mort. In this one-woman show, Ardant plays a prostitute speaking directly to a man who has paid her to spend several days with him. The man suffers from an illness— he is incapable of loving or being loved.

This production comes to New York following a successful run at Paris’ Théâtre de la Madeleine last summer.

One of France’s leading actresses of film and theater, Fanny Ardant has appeared in more than 40 films and was awarded the César for Best Actress in 1997. This is a rare opportunity to see her on stage in the Unites States.

“Submit to the commanding charms of an actress whose intelligence we love, and here, the ironic restraint and precision of character.” Le Figaro

In French with English supertitles

Florence Gould Hall, 55 East 59th Street
Members $40
Non-Members $50

Book at www.ticketmaster

Also in May at the Alliance Francaise, a special Fanny Ardant at the occasion of the CinemaTuesdays,

Films:
May 1 - Callas Forever
May 8 - 8 femmes / Eight Women
May 15 - Ridicule
May 22 - La Vie est un roman / Life is a Bed of Roses
May 29 - La Femme d’à côté / The Woman Next Door
May 29 - Vivement dimanche / Confidentially Yours

Go to www.fiaf.org

Charlelie Couture : Exhibition of "Re Constructions" at Galerie Mourlot

Charlelie Couture is a multi-talented French artist, painter, musician, sculptor, graphic designer... His work has been more prolific than ever since he moved to New York City. Everybody in France remembers "Comme un avion sans aile" in the '80s, but since then, he has developped his talent in so many different ways. "Deep down inside, I'm motivated by the idea of artistic quests, not an ambition to become famous. What counts most for me at the end of the day is taking my artistic quest – that I've had inside me from the age of twelve – as far as I possibly can."
Even if he launched his latest album, New Yor-Coeur, an anarchic mix of hopes, desires and snapshots of contemporary life, in 2006, painting is his main activity these days.

Galerie Mourlot is presenting his latest works on Re constructions until April 14th

Uncle Sam, photography by Gerard Franciosa

Galerie Mourlot
16 East 79th street
212.288.8808
Tues-Sat: 10am-5pm

www.gallery.charlelie.com

Interview of the week…BRIGITTE SAINT-OUEN, an American Art Dream

Every week, Paris in New York will interview a French person who has a successful career in New York City.
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Brigitte Saint-Ouen moved to New York 14 years ago. Initially, she was working as director of marketing for Wally Findlay Gallery on 57th Street. After more than a decade, Brigitte decided to create her own gallery, Gramercy 32 Fine Arts to provide a more customized service to corporations, decorators and private collectors. The Gallery specializes in European paintings of fine quality art work spanning 16th century Masters to 21st century. Over the past three years, Brigitte has organized numerous events to promote French painters. 2006 was a fantastic year when Gramercy 32 Fine Arts became the only guest gallery to stage an art exhibit at Sotheby’s. It spanned an entire floor for five days.

How do you sell Art?
I created a huge network of contacts along my 15 years in the business and I communicate with collectors all the time. I send a lot of brochures, personal letters, and I make a lot of phone contact. I also create a lot of events in New York and Miami. I have a monthly Newsletter with information about the gallery, the art scene, and a talkative section about my social life.
To increase my contact list, I am going out four to five times a week to cocktails or events where I make connections. I have now more than 7.000 names in my mailing list.

Being French does that makes any difference for your clients?
I would say it opens doors. People are more willing to talk with me because I am French.
But when I started working with Wally Findlay Gallery, there was always a colleague to ask what I did understand from the meeting to make sure that I listened to the new rules and wasn’t going to do it my own way. My philosophy was and still is: Everything is possible. I always try to find a solution to a problem.
During the French bashing, it was not easy. Nobody had interest in purchasing French artists. So I decided to diversify and I launched a new Photography department at the gallery. I represent an American artist and in collaboration with Kodak we just signed to represent an English photographer in the USA.

Where to meet French people in New York ?
I would say one of the best opportunities is the French Tuesdays (www.frenchtuesdays.com), where we network and dance in a new place every two weeks. Then if you are free during the day, you might want to join Accueil New York, which is planning lots of activities for French Expatriates (www.accueilnewyork.com).

Is it easy to meet French Natives in Manhattan ?
There are actually two types of French in New York. The one who are working in an American company and that you would have hard time to meet because they working long hours.
The other category is the French who are still attached to their country. They haven’t cut the ombilical cord yet. They stay between French people in small and close group. At first they might appear cold but they warm up as soon as you break the ice. They love inviting you for dinner in their house. Get ready to invit them back...that's the rules !

Tell me more about this French artist you have been promoting lately ?
Danielle Le Bricquir ? She is fantastic. She creates very colorful folkloric paintings based on old French legends from Brittany. She loves working with children. Gramercy 32 Fine Arts was able to accompany her to some of the most prestigious private schools in New York City, but what really affected her was the Master Class she gave at P.S.333, a public school in the Bronx. There, she spent time drawing and painting with 6 to 8 year old kids. It was an amazing experience!

Do you have another French artist that you would like to talk bout ?
Right now I have some paintings from Thierry Le Baler. He is influenced by the Nabis, a group of young avant-garde Parisian artists, who in the 1890s developed a decorative and Synthetist style.
His paintings are a study in color. He often repeats the same landscape a number of times with different palettes, exploring mood, tone and emotion.

I would like to invite you to visit my web site, www.32finearts.com . My gallery offers a concierge service. I am very grateful for this interview.

Brigitte Saint-Ouen
Gramercy 32 Fine Arts
32 Gramercy Park South, suite 15d
New York, NY 10003
212.780.0932

Cartier-Bresson's Scrapbook, between art and photojournalism

The International Center of Photography presents Cartier-Bresson 's own selection of his early work, pictures he glued meticulously in chronological order into an album that he brought with him upon his arrival in New York in April 1946.
The exhibition give a wonderful insight in his early period (1932-1946) when he was still interested more by creating art that gathering news as photojournalist, always looking for the "moment of Grace", or this decisive moment where he tries to capture the best light and life...Through his pictures, you can follow him during his travels to Spain and Mexico and his encounters with Surrealism and modern art in Paris before and after the World War II.

From January 2007-April 2007

ICP (International Center of Photography)
1133 Sixth Avenue (@ 43rd Street)
New York, New York 10036