AT
L’INLASSABLE MUSEUM
FROM YVES KLEIN TO MARCELLA BARCELÓ
30 ARTISTS CELEBRATING THE LEGACY OF IRIS CLERT
THE VISIONARY PARISIAN ART DEALER
170 SUFFOLK STREET - NEW YORK CITY
MAY 10-31, 2015
OPENING MAY 10
MON -SUN 2PM-8PM
IRIS-TIME
A tribute to
Iris Clert Gallery
(1956-1972)
ARMAN
KLAUS GEISSLER
YVES KLEIN
AD REINHARDT
JEAN TINGUELY
and archives from the
Joël Brunerie collections
Iris Clert during Arman’s Full-Up exhibition, 1960
Iris Clert gallery opened in February 1956 at 3 rue des Beaux- Arts in the parisian neighbourhood of Saint Germains des Prés which was then known as a home for avant-garde galleries. The rivalry between Paris and New-York at the time made Parisian galleries very cautious about presenting emerging artists. Iris Clert’s spectacular way of conducting her gallery, her total absence of artistic exclusivity and her incredible eclecticism in staging her
exhibitions made it a unique space of expression for dozens of major artists of the Paris
scene.
Clert’s confidence in the fact that an artistic manifestation doesn’t have to be judged aesthetically on its tangible realization but on the genuineness of its motivation, led her to organize
such iconic exhibtions as pioneer performance artist Jean-Jacques Lebel’s first exhibition in
1957, Klein’s Le vide (The Void) in 1958, and two years later Arman’s exhibition Le plein
(Full-Up), where the gallery space was filled with trash. For Takis ‘s Man in the Space
exhibition, the british poet Sinclair Beyles was suspended on a metal rod, ranting: “I’m not a
human being, I am a work of art by Takis”.
Between 1962 to 1975 Iris Clert published a two page newspaper titled Iris Time-Unlimited.
Replacing the traditional invitation, each issue announced upcoming shows, including critics
reviews, Indian horoscope and reactions of famous guests at the vernissage.
Inventor of the “Venice Biennale off” in 1962 where she exhibited her avant-garde projects
in a 17th century palazzo, discoverer of some of the most important artists of the 1950’s and
1960’s, and founder of a mobile museum with her plexiglass heavy truck the Stradart, Iris
Clert died in 1986 on the French Riviera, forgotten by most. Nevertheless, the self-proclaimed ‘Most advanced gallery in the world,’ which offered the opportunity to ‘buy today the
art of tomorrow,’ undoubtedly left a permanent mark into art history.
MICRO SALON
The gallery's first major exhibition in April 1957, was called Micro-Salon d’Avril . The exhibition consisted of over 250 artworks, no larger than a postcard, by over a hundred
artists. It featured works by Pablo Picasso, Max Ernst, Hans Hartung and Klein’s parents
along side unknown young artists like Yves Klein, Arman, Jean Tinguely or Takis. The
exhibition gained the 130sqft gallery considerable notoriety amongst Paris’ art scene, and
would become a signature, also meant to exist in New York, Dallas or Berlin, in hotel
rooms or ferry boat cabins following Clert’s peregrinations.
L’Inlassable Museum is pleased to stage a contemporary re-enactment of Clert’s Micro
Salon presenting over 50 small format works from 30 international artists.
With the works of:
Giulia Andreani, Bianca Argimon, Marcella Barcelló, Anya Belyat-Giunta, Camille Benarab-Lopez, Saïda Bettayeb, Nora Cohen, Matthew Craven, Stephen Dean, Anne Deleporte, Daniel Martin Diaz, James Gallagher, Nathanaëlle Herberlin, José Luis Landet,
Frédérique Loutz, Gaspard Maîtrepierre, Simon Martin, James Rielly, Edgar Sarin,
Anders Scrmn, Jeannie Weissglass, Marko Velk, Reinhard Voss, Axel Wilhite, Anaïs Ysebaert.
THE SPACE CONQUEST
Between mysticism and technology, Clert’s
fascination for spatial exploration was omnipresent in the gallery’s choices. In this section of the
exhibition, five contemporary artists explore the
resonance of these celestial dimensions. With
works by, Bianca Argimon, Marcella Barcelò,
Caroline Corbasson, Stephen Dean and a work
in progress by Anne Deleporte.
Caroline Corbasson, Anomalia, charcoal on stellar
atlas pages, 2013.
Takis, Man in Space, Iris Clert Gallery, 1960
IRIS - TIME (1956-1972)
Significant events:
1955 – Galerie Iris Clert Opens
April 1957 – Micro-Salon d’Avril
(Micro-Salon of April)
May 10–25, 1957 – Yves Klein,
Propositions
Monochromes
(Monochrome Propositions)
April 28, 1958 – Yves Klein,
Le Vide (The Void)
November 1958 – Yves Klein &
Jean Tinguely, Vitesse pure et
Stabilité
monochrome
(Pure
Speed and Monochrome Stability)
June 1959 – Yves Klein,
La forêt d’ésponges monochromes (Forest of Monochrome
Sponges)
July 1959 - Jean Tinguely,
Les Méta-Matics
June 1960 - Takis, Man in Space
October 1960 – Arman,
Le Plein (The Full-Up)
June 1963 - Ad Reinhardt, Les
Forces Immobiles (The Immobile
Forces)
July 1963 - Gaston Chaissac,
Totems
October 1963 - Klaus Geissler,
Space Chambers
1971 – Galerie Iris Clert Closes
INFORMATIONS
L’INLASSABLE MUSEUM
170 SUFFOLK STREET - 10002 NY
MAY 10-31 2015
MON-SUN 2PM-8PM
L’INLASSABLE
MUSEUM
L’Inlassable Museum is a
mobile entity investigating the resonance of
historical moments in
contemporary art.
contact:
[email protected]
linlassablegalerie.com/linlassable-museum
Tel (US): +1 917-864-7497
Tel (FR):+33173 74 75 45
John Ferrère - Ulysse Geissler
SAFETY ADVICE
Pickpockets may be present in the museum.
They operate in crowds while you are photographing or looking at an art work.
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