Late 17th Century Dutch School / 2006
3 Parts: oil on copper painting (in box frame); and two text panels (framed)
The 12th in our series of 26 exhibition pairings: Marine Hugonnier (b. 1969 in Paris, lives and works in London) studied philosophy and anthropology before establishing herself as an artist whose films, photographs and installations have recently been given solo exhibitions at some of the world's most prestigious museums and galleries: S.M.A.K, Ghent; Kunsthalle Bern; the Philadephia Museum of Contemporary Art; Fondation Re Rebodengo, Turino (all in 2007) and forthcoming in 2008 at the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Geneva.
Hugonnier's work is infused with her long-standing interest in anthropology. Working primarily with films and photographs, she explores the historical conditions that frame our current perceptions, and examines locations where a specific heritage has strongly determined the way we see those places.
Time and its passage is also a recurring theme in Hugonnier's work. She examines and questions something that is at once both a widely accepted and seemingly essential constant, and also a quite arbitrary cultural construction. For this exhibition, she will show the first work created through her 'Restoration Project' in which historical paintings are acquired by the artist and then subjected to a process of restoration (by a qualified professional) in order to return them to their original pristine state, removing all damage or detritus which they may have accumulated over the years. The 'restored' painting is exhibited alongside 2 typed condition reports, one made before and one after. Through this project, Hugonnier considers the temporality of art works, and through the restoration process she is able to slightly alter both the work itself, and its reception.
Following our invitation, Hugonnier chose to show alongside Matthias Fayos, a doctor who lives and works in the French countryside, and is also involved with Medicins Sans Frontiers. Alongside his professional life, for many years Fayos has also developed a vast number of drawings; these exquisitely strange works are made purely for his own interest and pleasure and he has never before shown them in any context. We are delighted that he agreed to collaborate with Marine to make this exhibition.