Ella & Pitr
→ Informations: info@lefeuvreroze.com
Ella & Pitr: "Comme des fourmis"
Retrospective exhibition
20 January - 17 February 2018
Organised on the occasion of the publication of the eponymous monograph in the Alternatives collection (published by Gallimard), the exhibition "Comme des fourmis" (Like ants) shows the evolution of the Stéphanois artists' studio work since 2011. It is also the relationship between the artists and their gallery that is to be discovered...
Ella & Pitr's work is touching because of its great sincerity and the poetic dimension that emerges from it. Whether it is very complex, technically detailed, or composed of simpler, more raw lines, it conveys the emotions that Ella & Pitr felt while creating. This is also what makes their charm. Very often, it is them, their family, their friends that we find immersed, represented in their works. And when the men, women or children are not part of their entourage, they come from memories or from the overflowing imagination of their children. The gallery owner chooses to collaborate with an artist for several reasons. First, because they like the work. Secondly, because both parties want to move in the same direction; of course, there must be a human affinity. Finally, the gallery owner's time, walls and word with respect to his collectors and the amateurs who visit his space are limited. Exhibiting an artist's work and defending it is an investment. The artist's work must make the gallery owner dream, because, let's not forget, the idea behind any presentation of a painting or exhibition is the acquisition, by the collectors, of the artist's work. The gallery is only a stage in the life of the work. Its final destination is the collector's wall.
In our relationship with Ella & Pitr and their universe, the question has often arisen and still does. Beyond the sincere and enriching exchanges, beyond the certain friendship and the attachment that binds us to their work and their universe, how can we find the point of balance between an aspiration to unveil a sometimes raw truth and a commercial imperative?
Ella & Pitr are the narrators of many scenes. Lonely characters, peacefully asleep - definitely one might think - warlike characters, on the attack of life? - elderly, angry, isolated, in love, dancing or stoic... it is often in Ella & Pitr's work the real dimension of a situation, the "Proust's madeleine" effect, its radical dimension too, that creates the attachment to a work; the poetry that is often mentioned when describing their work. Paradoxically, it is also this real dimension that can close the door on the dream. The real is true. The truth is sometimes unpleasant. To read it on a painting is to feel it, and from this point of view, Ella & Pitr's work wins every time. Emotion is created - whatever it may be: adhesion, admiration, incomprehension or even rejection. But, asks the collector, will I be able to live with this emotion every day? Obviously, there is no single answer to his question. There are almost as many answers as there are emotions. From a business point of view, let's come back to this, the fact that this question arises is sometimes an obstacle. And here we are back at the centre of the relationship between the gallery owner and the artist. Collectors, year after year, follow, know, feel and adhere to the gallery owner's tastes. Logically, the latter ardently defends the works that he likes and even beyond that, those that he would buy and be ready to exhibit at his place. Feeling an emotion, loving a work and buying it to live with for years are very different things. It is this famous point of balance that we seek with our artists and particularly with Ella & Pitr.
Franck Le Feuvre
