CLAIRE  DE  SANTA  COLOMA  Pause  is  a  variety  of  accumulated  movement    Opening  Saturday  11  March,  4  to  8  pm  Exhibit  Saturday  11  March  to  Saturday  29  April  2017    

Untitled  (detail),  2016  

Cut-­‐out  300  gr.  arches  paper    114  x  114  cm  

   

“Pause   is   a   variety   of   accumulated   movement,”   said   Ossip   E.   Mandelstam   in   his  analysis   as   he   followed   Dante   Alighieri’s   path   during   his   Italian   exile.   That   path   is  what,  many  years  later,  brought  the  Italian  poet,  writer  and  political  figure  to  write  The  Divine  Comedy.    The  work  of  Claire  de  Santa  Coloma  brings  together  the  characteristics  of  the  notion  of  “pause”  as  described  by  Mandelstam.  By  staying  still  and  observing  her  works  at  length,  by  lingering  with  them,  by  taking  that  time,  we  come  to  fully  embrace  what  each  one  encompasses.  Shade  and   luminosity,  or   surface  and  time  spent   for  every  strike  of  the  hollow  chisel.    The  artist’s  work  involves  notions  of  space,  of  an  organic  and  ephemeral  quality,  but  also   of   the   link   between   concrete   and   abstract   worlds.   Her   practice   is   a   perfect  example   of   a   contemporary   individual   mythology.   Santa   Coloma   does   not   merely  create  objects,  she  produces  benchmark  constellations  within  which  the  constitutive  elements  are  particularly  showcased.      The  works  shown  at  Galerie  Virginie  Louvet  include  sculptures  and  works  on  paper.  The  approach  on   the   latter  questions   the  use  of   time,  of   repetition,  as  well  as   the  frugality  of  gestures  and  means.  We  have  pieces  here  in  which  the  language  used  to  express   their   artistic  essence  has  been   lost.  With   the  elaboration  of  a  non-­‐stylized  image,  there  is  a  will  for  a  piece  to  elaborate  itself  through  its  own  style,  like  a  silent  voice  -­‐  the  voice  of  the  present.      

 

 Claire  de  Santa  Coloma  (born  in  Buenos  Aires  in  1983,)  lives  and  works  in  Lisbon.  She  furbished  her  craft  at  the  Ateliers  des  Beaux-­‐Arts  de  la  Ville  de  Paris  (centre  Glacière)  where   she   specialized   in   taille   directe   sculpture,   while   simultaneously   obtaining   a  Master  in  Plastic  Arts  Research  at  Paris  I-­‐Sorbonne.  She  was  a  resident  at  the  Casa  de  Velázquez   (Madrid)   between   2007   and   2009.   She   has   since   been   living   in   Lisbon,  taking  part  in  the  Independent  Study  Program  at  the  Maumaus  School  of  Visual  Arts,  and   presenting  works  with   them   at   the   29th   Biennial   in   Sao   Paulo   in   2010.   She   is  currently  artist   in   residence   invited  by   the   city  of   Lisbon,   the  2017   Ibero-­‐American  Culture  Capital.    Her  works  have  been  shown  regularly  since  2008,  in  individual  or  group  shows,  and  she  has  participated  in  numerous  international  artist  residencies.        

Galerie  Virginie  Louvet  48  rue  Chapon  75003  Paris  

+33  1  42  7197  48  contact@virginielouvet.com