We gave a party for the gods and the gods all came

Stéphane Bérard, Pauline Curnier Jardin, John Giorno, Alex Hubbard, Charlie Jeffery, Marie Lancelin, Seulgi Lee

26 October — 8 December 2012

Seulgi Lee, Magnetologia Curiosa, 2010, courtesy of the artist.
Exhibition view, “We gave a party for the gods and the gods all came”, Stéphane Bérard, Pauline Curnier Jardin, John Giorno, Alex Hubbard, Charlie Jeffery, Marie Lancelin, Seulgi Lee, Galerie Arko, 2012.
Marie Lancelin, Film (Dravolda), 2011, digital – black and white, colours, Production Tripode, courtesy of the artist.
John Giorno, Eating the Sky, 2008, We gave a party for the gods and the gods all came, 2010, pencil on paper, courtesy of the artist and Almine Rech gallery, Paris.
Charlie Jeffery, Green Sun Setting, 2012, wood, paint, courtesy of the artist.
Charlie Jeffery, Green Sun Setting (detail), 2012, wood, paint, courtesy of the artist.
Charlie Jeffery, Dog Star Fish, 2006, video, 2’10”, sound, courtesy of the artist.
Charlie Jeffery, Dog Star Fish, 2006, video, 2’10”, sound, courtesy of the artist.
Seulgi Lee, Clameur, 2011/2012, courtesy of the artist.
Pauline Curnier Jardin, How to enter in the famous ballroom scene?, 2006, video installation, 1’40” on loop, silent, courtesy of the artist, photo: Pauline Curnier Jardin.
Video played at night in a shop window in town.
Seulgi Lee, IDO, 2009/2012, production Evento, Bordeaux, courtesy of the artist, photo: Seulgi Lee.
The bus went around the city during the time of the exhibition.
Seulgi Lee, Radeau, 2012, courtesy of the artist, photo: Arko.
The raft was anchored on the Loire river near the gallery during the exhibition.
Seulgi Lee, Radeau, 2012, courtesy of the artist, photo: Arko.
The raft was anchored on the Loire river near the gallery during the exhibition.
Charlie Jeffery, Frame of mind, 2012, courtesy of the artist.
Charlie Jeffery, Frame of mind, 2012, courtesy of the artist.
Charlie Jeffery, Frame of mind, 2012, courtesy of the artist.

Borrowed to one of John Giorno’s poem paintings, the title of the exhibition “We gave a party for the gods and the gods all came” sounds like a hallucinated statement, evoking the extravagance of pagan rituals anchored in the collective imaginary, as well as conveying the ideas of feast and celebration.

In the particular context of an exhibition which will mark the end of the galerie Arko’s current activities, we aim to counterbalance some kind of disenchantment with a wisp of derision and deliberate exaggeration.

As it seems useful to claim that every creative or intellectual activity is a resistance to the numbing of the mind, we imagined this exhibition like a demonstration in favor of the creative action, showing a refusal to give up on discouragement. The artworks we put together have in common a strong performative dimension as well as a familiarity with other artistic domains (poetry, dance, theatre, music, magic…) Without being the theme of the exhibition as such, the idea of a “total artwork” lies beneath the multidisciplinary practices of the invited artists, and their ability to convey a full-fledged universe: an art that is in no way tyrannical, but on the contrary, generous in the energy it releases.

As a way to extend to the streets the territory of art, some interventions in the public space will come in addition to the works shown at the gallery. These proposals will “occupy” the ordinary landscape of the city according to their own temporalities, and will generate some surreal and exuberant visions.

Galerie Arko
3 place Mossé, 58000 Nevers
03 86 57 93 22 / galeriearko2@gmail.com
galerie.arko.free.fr

Free entrance, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays
from 3 to 7pm and by appointment

Arko is supported by: ville de Nevers, conseil général de la Nièvre, région Bourgogne and ministère de la culture – DRAC Bourgogne.