Drawing Now Alternative 2021

Chourouk Hriech visited Tel Aviv during her exhibition in the Centre for Contemporary Art in 2018. As often during her journey abroad, the artist drew a series entitled Tel Aviv's lines depicting her discoveries and exploration of the city in black and white. The brand-new buildings stand alongside the dilapidated ones, highlighting the continual transformation of the space. These drawings allude to Mediterranean architectures, as well as Bauhaus influences and the big Californian streets with the play of light and shade. In this architectural panorama, Chourouk Hriech emphasizes on the contrast between the hard stroke of the buildings and the disordered vegetation.

The Coques lourdes series is an opportunity for Massinissa Selmani to draw sceneries in which the characters represented seem to adopt postures of retreat and passivity. These situations evoke various forms of violence and threat which remain, as always with the artist, largely undetermined. Manipulating humour and gravity, Massinissa Selmani reveals a reality between poetry and politics.

The Coques lourdes series is an opportunity for Massinissa Selmani to draw sceneries in which the characters represented seem to adopt postures of retreat and passivity. These situations evoke various forms of violence and threat which remain, as always with the artist, largely undetermined. Manipulating humour and gravity, Massinissa Selmani reveals a reality between poetry and politics.

The Coques lourdes series is an opportunity for Massinissa Selmani to draw sceneries in which the characters represented seem to adopt postures of retreat and passivity. These situations evoke various forms of violence and threat which remain, as always with the artist, largely undetermined. Manipulating humour and gravity, Massinissa Selmani reveals a reality between poetry and politics.

The Coques lourdes series is an opportunity for Massinissa Selmani to draw sceneries in which the characters represented seem to adopt postures of retreat and passivity. These situations evoke various forms of violence and threat which remain, as always with the artist, largely undetermined. Manipulating humour and gravity, Massinissa Selmani reveals a reality between poetry and politics.

The Coques lourdes series is an opportunity for Massinissa Selmani to draw sceneries in which the characters represented seem to adopt postures of retreat and passivity. These situations evoke various forms of violence and threat which remain, as always with the artist, largely undetermined. Manipulating humour and gravity, Massinissa Selmani reveals a reality between poetry and politics.

In Amorce dans l'air léger, Massinissa Selmani assembles elements to produce strange, even absurd situations, imbued with a certain gravity; they suggest signs of a latent tragedy or the beginnings of an elusive violence to come. The resulting storytelling, deliberately constructed from postures or fragments of architecture that seem familiar, escapes the possibility of situating or dating them. The elements thus isolated from their context tend to make the situations eternal.

In Amorce dans l'air léger, Massinissa Selmani assembles elements to produce strange, even absurd situations, imbued with a certain gravity; they suggest signs of a latent tragedy or the beginnings of an elusive violence to come. The resulting storytelling, deliberately constructed from postures or fragments of architecture that seem familiar, escapes the possibility of situating or dating them. The elements thus isolated from their context tend to make the situations eternal.

In Amorce dans l'air léger, Massinissa Selmani assembles elements to produce strange, even absurd situations, imbued with a certain gravity; they suggest signs of a latent tragedy or the beginnings of an elusive violence to come. The resulting storytelling, deliberately constructed from postures or fragments of architecture that seem familiar, escapes the possibility of situating or dating them. The elements thus isolated from their context tend to make the situations eternal.

In Amorce dans l'air léger, Massinissa Selmani assembles elements to produce strange, even absurd situations, imbued with a certain gravity; they suggest signs of a latent tragedy or the beginnings of an elusive violence to come. The resulting storytelling, deliberately constructed from postures or fragments of architecture that seem familiar, escapes the possibility of situating or dating them. The elements thus isolated from their context tend to make the situations eternal.

In Amorce dans l'air léger, Massinissa Selmani assembles elements to produce strange, even absurd situations, imbued with a certain gravity; they suggest signs of a latent tragedy or the beginnings of an elusive violence to come. The resulting storytelling, deliberately constructed from postures or fragments of architecture that seem familiar, escapes the possibility of situating or dating them. The elements thus isolated from their context tend to make the situations eternal.

In Amorce dans l'air léger, Massinissa Selmani assembles elements to produce strange, even absurd situations, imbued with a certain gravity; they suggest signs of a latent tragedy or the beginnings of an elusive violence to come. The resulting storytelling, deliberately constructed from postures or fragments of architecture that seem familiar, escapes the possibility of situating or dating them. The elements thus isolated from their context tend to make the situations eternal.

In Amorce dans l'air léger, Massinissa Selmani assembles elements to produce strange, even absurd situations, imbued with a certain gravity; they suggest signs of a latent tragedy or the beginnings of an elusive violence to come. The resulting storytelling, deliberately constructed from postures or fragments of architecture that seem familiar, escapes the possibility of situating or dating them. The elements thus isolated from their context tend to make the situations eternal.

In Amorce dans l'air léger, Massinissa Selmani assembles elements to produce strange, even absurd situations, imbued with a certain gravity; they suggest signs of a latent tragedy or the beginnings of an elusive violence to come. The resulting storytelling, deliberately constructed from postures or fragments of architecture that seem familiar, escapes the possibility of situating or dating them. The elements thus isolated from their context tend to make the situations eternal.

In Amorce dans l'air léger, Massinissa Selmani assembles elements to produce strange, even absurd situations, imbued with a certain gravity; they suggest signs of a latent tragedy or the beginnings of an elusive violence to come. The resulting storytelling, deliberately constructed from postures or fragments of architecture that seem familiar, escapes the possibility of situating or dating them. The elements thus isolated from their context tend to make the situations eternal.

For Le gâteau de larmes, Mireille Blanc is inspired by a banal photograph of a birthday meal that she reframes to sublimate the cake motif and make the protagonists of the scene disappear. The dessert is magnified by the flash of the camera and the charcoal that allows the play of light and shadow. The sculptural form of the cake and its aluminum plate, bordering on kitsch, thus become properly pictorial subjects.

The Coques lourdes series is an opportunity for Massinissa Selmani to draw sceneries in which the characters represented seem to adopt postures of retreat and passivity. These situations evoke various forms of violence and threat which remain, as always with the artist, largely undetermined. Manipulating humour and gravity, Massinissa Selmani reveals a reality between poetry and politics.

The Coques lourdes series is an opportunity for Massinissa Selmani to draw sceneries in which the characters represented seem to adopt postures of retreat and passivity. These situations evoke various forms of violence and threat which remain, as always with the artist, largely undetermined. Manipulating humour and gravity, Massinissa Selmani reveals a reality between poetry and politics.

The Coques lourdes series is an opportunity for Massinissa Selmani to draw sceneries in which the characters represented seem to adopt postures of retreat and passivity. These situations evoke various forms of violence and threat which remain, as always with the artist, largely undetermined. Manipulating humour and gravity, Massinissa Selmani reveals a reality between poetry and politics.

Chourouk Hriech visited Tel Aviv during her exhibition in the Centre for Contemporary Art in 2018. As often during her journey abroad, the artist drew a series entitled Tel Aviv's lines depicting her discoveries and exploration of the city in black and white. The brand-new buildings stand alongside the dilapidated ones, highlighting the continual transformation of the space. These drawings allude to Mediterranean architectures, as well as Bauhaus influences and the big Californian streets with the play of light and shade. In this architectural panorama, Chourouk Hriech emphasizes on the contrast between the hard stroke of the buildings and the disordered vegetation.

Grandmas est une série de dessins inspirés d'étiquettes de produits dont la marque se  rapporte à un membre de la famille.  C'est lors d'une résidence en Californie, que Valérie Mréjen a commencé à collectionner ces étiquettes : grand-mères, oncles, tantes, c'est toute une "famille recomposée" que l'on retrouve dans ces dessins nostalgiques, comme autant de chaleureux fantômes.

Grandmas is a series of drawings inspired by product labels whose brand relates to a family member.  It was during a residency in California, that Valérie Mréjen began collecting these labels: grandmothers, uncles, aunts, it is a whole "reconstituted family" that we find in these nostalgic drawings, like so many warm ghosts.

Chourouk Hriech frequently takes inspiration during her travels. In this series, she depicts a journey in Thailand which becomes the central subject of her drawings. These artworks become a travel diary where the artist captures the essence of her subject with quick strokes, illustrating buildings, streets or objects that interested her during this journey.

In this series, Valérie Mréjen has enlarged details of postcards from the Archives of the city of Vienna. From these views with one or more characters, she proposes short fictional narratives that are inspired by the images. She rethinks their contexts, sometimes amusing, sensitive or disenchanted. Creating a link between image and narrative, Valérie Mréjen gives new life to these postcards, recalling their primary function as a medium for epistolary exchanges.

In this series, Valérie Mréjen has enlarged details of postcards from the Archives of the city of Vienna. From these views with one or more characters, she proposes short fictional narratives that are inspired by the images. She rethinks their contexts, sometimes amusing, sensitive or disenchanted. Creating a link between image and narrative, Valérie Mréjen gives new life to these postcards, recalling their primary function as a medium for epistolary exchanges.

Dans ces dessins, Chourouk Hriech représente des lieux où se mêlent des éléments architecturaux et végétaux appelant à une grande sérénité, comme des endroits idylliques du quotidien. Comme souvent dans sa pratique elle mêle des éléments réels desquels elle s'inspire lors d'un voyage et des éléments imaginaires et fantasmés. Dans ces intérieurs dessinés en noir et blanc, chaque ouverture sur le dehors laisse apparaître des paysages profonds, composés d'une nature verdoyante. Ainsi, elle superpose des architectures urbaines, ici inspirées de Madrid (une salle du Palais de l'Alcazar, une ruelle encombrée,...), et des horizons bucoliques impossibles. De cette manière, elle installe un jeu dans la perspective qui invite à une ouverture, un possible, une nouvelle façon de concevoir l'espace pour aller vers un monde rêvé.

Chourouk Hriech frequently takes inspiration during her travels. In this series, she depicts a journey in Thailand which becomes the central subject of her drawings. These artworks become a travel diary where the artist captures the essence of her subject with quick strokes, illustrating buildings, streets or objects that interested her during this journey.

Grand rideau (1) is a drawing produced from a photograph of a laced curtain, reminding of kitsch subjects which often reappear in the artist's work. Through a process of picture transformation, which leads her to play of the scale ration and to emphasize on the details, she creates a filter between the artwork and those who are looking at it, and allow the appearance of a new reality with the loss of the primary subject. The use of charcoal, and consequently of black and white lead to reinforce the subject abstraction by dissolving the artworks' patterns, which contribute even more to lose the viewer landmarks.

Dans Hot dog, Mireille Blanc dessine au fusain un pain vidé de son contenu en adoptant une vue plongeante sur son sujet. L'artiste s'amuse avec nos repères mémoriels en choisissant un titre qui dévoile la nature de l'aliment pourtant absent dans son dessin. Par le choix du cadrage, elle renforce cette idée d'étrangeté et brouille les repères du regardeur.

Dans Poisson, Mireille Blanc dessine un bibelot, sûrement une lampe au design kitsch, presque repoussant. À partir d'un cliché de cet objet, l'artiste joue sur la réflexion en utilisant le noir et blanc pour accentuer le détournement du sujet. Ce faisant, elle intègre des détails de construction de l'image comme ce bout de scotch au milieu du dessin, témoignant du processus d'abstraction effectué par l'artiste.

In this drawing, Chourouk Hriech invents a floating world similar to Japanese landscapes, where vegetation, animals and geometrical shapes come together through a process of ornamentation akin to cave painting. Without representing them, she suggests through the lines, birds that are flying away. Hence, she creates a continuity between the kimono fabric, and the animal wings spread.

In this drawing, Chourouk Hriech invents a floating world similar to Japanese landscapes, where vegetation, animals and geometrical shapes come together through a process of ornamentation akin to cave painting. Without representing them, she suggests through the lines, birds that are flying away. Hence, she creates a continuity between the kimono fabric, and the animal wings spread.

Dans Eclipse (3), Mireille Blanc s'inspire d'un album-photo dont la moitié des photographie a été retirée, point de départ d'un ensemble d'œuvres depuis 2009. L'artiste s'interroge ici sur la place laissée par le vide qui dérobe le souvenir et rend compte de la part mémorielle qui traverse son travail. Le spectateur est libre d'y mettre l'image qu'il souhaite et de combler cette absence avec ses propres souvenirs.

Sweat jaune est un dessin en noir et blanc représentant, en son centre, un motif indéterminé, perturbé par les plis du vêtement sur lequel il figure. Le sweat-shirt étant porté, le tissu est en mouvement et ce qui tend vers la perte du sujet et joue sur l'indétermination de l'objet traité.

Fruits d'anniversaire is a continuation of the artist's work on the motif of cakes. In this large format, the use of tracing paper allows the artist to meticulously reproduce all the details of the source image. The charcoal reinforces the play of light and shadow of the candles. The shape of the apples as well as the mixture of materials evoked bring a certain sensuality to the scene. The undulating lines of the tablecloth echo optical artworks that blur the viewer's visual perception.