Art makes itself useful
The young Parisian gallery A1043 is already familiar with border crossers and border crossings. Last year, for example, furniture designs by the Japanese fashion icon Rei Kawakubo, who operated in the grey area between design and plastic, were shown. In the current exhibition "Borders", almost 20 objects by renowned artists, designers and gallerists have been collected, all of which are located between design objects and autonomous artworks.
Tony Cragg's "Trowel and Fork", for example, whose serial metal parts suggest usefulness, while the handles with their cactus-like shapes exclude sensible use. Lawrence Weiner exaggerates the banality of a wastebasket with copper and marble. On the other hand, Robert Wilson pursues an absolute reduction of form and material in his chair "Hamlet", while Dan Friedman's screen "Virgin" shows moving forms in cheerful yellow.
The exhibition allows for a different, unfamiliar perspective on contemporary visual art - the one from the perspective of decorative art, which quite abruptly raises the question of usefulness to the objects. It is precisely this otherwise inadmissible examination that is permitted here, and many of the exhibits prove to be a veritable useful. (fap)
Borders
Galerie A1043
47, rue de Montmorency
75003 Paris
Opening hours
Wednesday to Saturday, 1.30 - 7.00 pm
Untill March 24, 2018
