KUMUKUMU is proud to present an exhibition of works by French-born Patrick Neu. This will mark his solo debut in the United States.
Patrick Neu exhibits three groups of drawings in various mediums, including watercolors of irises, burned paper drawings on charred placemats, and delicate soot o... Read more
KUMUKUMU is proud to present an exhibition of works by French-born Patrick Neu. This will mark his solo debut in the United States.
Patrick Neu exhibits three groups of drawings in various mediums, including watercolors of irises, burned paper drawings on charred placemats, and delicate soot on crystal “drawings,” replicating in miniature the religious iconography of Renaissance and pre-Renaissance paintings. The soot he uses comes from candle smoke. In all the pieces, Neu manifests a preoccupation with fragility, transience, and decay, both in the material itself and the subject matter depicted. He has described irises as “beautiful, strong, fragile, sick, malicious, and fatal.” Each spring, he ritualistically cuts the flower off the stem before doing the watercolors. As Neu portrays them, they become abstract and sexual, their petals like folds of skin. The technical agility of the work is also notable; Neu’s work treats delicacy and obsession both materially and metaphorically. Although ostensibly concerning himself with the ephemeral, the artist, through the beauty of each piece, evinces a celebratory state of rebirth.
Patrick Neu has exhibited internationally, with solo shows at Galerie de Zaal in Holland, Showroom Manzoni in Geneva, Arlogos Gallery in Paris, Contemporary Art Center in Cuba, Musée des Beaux-Arts in Nantes, and the European Center for Contemporary Artistic Actions in Strasbourg. His work has also been featured in Paris at the Museum of Modern Art (ARC) and Patricia Dorfmann Gallery, as well as in various exhibitions in Germany, Hungary, and South Korea. Neu lives and works in Enchenberg, France.
KUMUKUMU is a contemporary art gallery in the burgeoning art locus of the Lower East Side, two blocks from the New Museum. The gallery represents emerging and internationally recognized artists, with a program focused on gender, social, historical and environmental issues. Gallery hours are Wednesday through Sunday, 11AM-6PM. For further information, please contact Atsumi Fujita at: atsumi@kumukumugallery.com
