Sponsored by the DESTE Foundation and organized by the Hellenic Art Galleries Association, Tongue in ‘Cheek: Six Contemporary French Artists is an exhibition dedicated to contemporary French art that accompanies the eighth edition of the contemporary art fair, ART ATHINA.
The title of the show refers to the importance of the human body and its re-examination as a source – and perhaps a cause – of all man’s misfortunes, or, at least, of his conscience. Gilles Barbier’s clones, presented as either sculptures or photographs, pose an ethical issue and prompt us to consider a probable dimension that no longer concerns animals but human beings. Marie-Ange Guilleminot’s works speak of a different kind of body that is female, personal, and reversed inside out. In Annette Messager’s works, the body appears fragmented, dislocated in a ridiculous and profoundly eschatological way, with shapes referencing intestines and lungs suspended in space. Eric Nussbicker’s works play with the relationship between the non-obvious use of objects and the strictly personal nature of the human body. Through a sequence of procedures on her own body, Orlan constructs a deliberately beautiful image while re-evaluating the laws of human nature rather than those of the aesthetics. Jean-Michel Othoniel’s objects speak to us about sensitive, fragile human bodies, whose transparency enhances the sense of obstruction while their fragility seems to bring suspicion of some sensitive being.
