Oh Paris

The Paris Art Gallery La B.A.N.K  is showing Serge Leblon’s second personal exhibition. This time the exhibition consists of selection of large photos. The first two pieces, which can be found at the entrance of this Paris art gallery, are landscapes framed like doors and presented on tall panels. The first piece shows a luxurious trimmed green grass path that goes into a forest. It is as if nature, tired of being tamed by man, is trying to escape and revive its wild side. The second print’s composition is also divided in two. The bottom part shows a messy grass bank reminiscent of a thick fur coat brushed by gushes of wind coming from all directions. The upper half shows a washed out white-grey sky. It is as if the light is coming from the ground, not the sky.

More landscapes are exposed on opposite side to these first two panels: a white house hidden in mist and diluted in a watercolor setting, and a dark pine forest slashed by a path of long dry grass.

In the basement of this Paris art gallery La B.A.N.K., two videos set themselves apart formally but keep the photographs’ sense of loneliness.

In one of them, two children are playing around in the snow with music from a Fellini movie playing in the background. The children are in fact models. They are not playing. They are pretending to play. And the trees and snow are not real as well. After every laughing session, they look towards someone outside the frame, seeking his or her approval.

The other movie, apparently shot during a photo shoot, shows a girl sitting despondently. Music and voices can be heard. Another character, a man, walks into the frame, heads towards the girl, but walks past her to work on decorative elements of the setting. He comes and goes, drops off a cushion, and another one, but doesn’t once pay attention to her even though she seems desperate for attention. The artificial atmosphere makes it difficult to know if she is being sincere or not. She could be acting, and the man could be pretending not to see her.

The varnishing day (vernissage) is on Thursday November 5, 2009 from 6pm till 9pm. The exposition is open till January 2^nd 2010.

You can find the Paris art gallery La B.A.N.K. at 42 rue Volta in the 3^rd district of Paris, or at www.bankgalerie.com. You can reach them at: +33 1 42 72 06 90