ChromAmour è la seconda personale francese di Lise Haller Baggesen dopo “Apocalypstick”, che venne allestita al Confort Moderne di Poitiers nell’estate del 2023. Quest’ultima ha gettato le basi per un possibile nuovo universo, paesaggio abitato da forme crisalide che incarnano modi di accogliere mondi futuri. Abiti da debuttante multicolori in una molteplicità di forme, perfettamente messi in risalto da slogan pop incisi in dipinti vivaci. Il titolo “ChromAmour” indica che la cromofobia collettiva è finita, poiché l’umanità è stufa di essere malata, stanca di essere stanca e affamata di tocco umano. Di pennellata. Di tattile, piuttosto che di digitale. Pronta affinché il colore ritorni sulle guance e nelle strade (…)
FINE DELLA CROMOFOBIA COLLETTIVA
“ChromAmour” is Lise Haller Baggesen’s second solo show in France, following “Apocalypstick” at Confort Moderne in Poitiers (France) in the summer of 2023. “Apocalypstick” laid the foundation for a possible new world, a landscape inhabited by chrysalis-forms embodying ways of welcoming future worlds; multi-colored debutante dresses in a multiplicity of shapes, perfectly set off by pop slogans inscribed in vibrant paintings. The title ChromAmour indicates that our collective chromophobia is over. We’re sick of being sick, we’re tired of being tired, we’re skin hungry for the human touch, for the brush stroke, for the tactile rather than the digital. We’re ready for the color to return to our cheeks and to our streets.
CHROMAMOUR
In 2020, locked down in her studio in Chicago (United States), Lise Haller Baggesen began working with the materials at hand, i.e. vintage clothing and paint tubes. She then acquired prom dresses in second-hand clothes stores, painting designs and patterns on their shimmering satin surfaces. Stretched canvases served as palettes, and as surfaces upon which to copy the lyrics of songs which are the soundtrack to her daily life. Words and slogans were inscribed in areas of colour which have been painted upon the dresses’ fabrics. The extended isolation in the studio enabled her to carry out photo shoots with her teenage daughter, who wore and performed in the painted dresses, through which new silhouettes and vignettes emerged. Initial attempts gave rise to a series of paintings on fabric and to sculptures composed of painted dresses which are now repurposed in immersive installations.
VIBRANCY OF CONTEMPORARY CREATION
For this, her first solo exhibition in Paris, Lise Haller Baggesen will present her work in the wider context of the history of art (omnipresent in the museums and public and private collections of the European capital of the arts) through the prism of color, combining it with the vibrancy of contemporary creation. This colorful outlook on the world is further enriched by an increasing awareness of environmental issues, specifically, by paying attention to the multitude of living things and other beings in the world and how they might develop symbiotic relationships. This metamorphosis is expressed principally through the idea of the chrysalis sculptures. The ability of living creatures to transform themselves into complex arrangements, the link between the futures facing humans and non-humans, the living, the dead and the inorganic, the sheer range of sculpted shapes and the artist’s wide visual spectrum combine to make the exhibition a showcase that’s open to the possibilities of new, shared futures.
LISE HALLER BAGGESEN
Lise Haller Baggesen is an internationally recognized interdisciplinary artist. Born in Denmark (Aarhus) in 1969, she now lives in Chicago. Her hybrid practice includes writing, installation art and performance art centred around costume, text and textile. The author of Mothernism, she exhibits widely abroad, most recently with the multimedia exhibition A Space Where Your Voices Can Live at the Malmö Kunstmuseum (Sweden) and Roskilde Festival (Denmark) and the solo show Apocalypstick! at Confort Moderne (France) in 2023. Lise Haller Baggesen left her native Denmark in 1992 to study painting at the AKI and the Rijksakademie (Amsterdam) until 1997. She was awarded the Prince Bernhard Culture prize (2000) and the Royal Dutch Prize for Modern Painting (2002). She completed a Masters in Visual and Critical Studies at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, won the SAIC VCS Fellowship Award (2013) and was nominated for the Joan Mitchell Foundation’s Emerging Artist grant in 2015. Her work is acquired by various public and private collections, including the FRAC.
ABOUT LE BICOLORE, LA MAISON DU DANEMARK
La Maison du Danemark was inaugurated in 1955 with the mission of promoting Danish culture in France. Le Bicolore, a cultural institute located on the 2nd floor of La Maison du Danemark on the Champs-Élysées brings together the Danish, French and international art scenes. Le Bicolore has a vast space of 200 m2 and a sublime view of both the famous avenue in the 8th arrondissement and a private courtyard planted with trees. The contemporary art platform offers several exhibitions a year covering a wide spectrum: from painting and textile art, to design, architecture, and virtual reality. Its program is enhanced by a wide range of events: concerts, literary evenings, film screenings, artistic performances, lectures and debates. Le Bicolore aims to catalyze and reflect the creative dynamics of artists in Denmark and of the contemporary world. This offbeat, plural and mischievous cultural institute honors freedom of thought, and current topics in public debate. Its name is a nod to the French Tricolore, echoing the values of equality and diversity, while offering a different view of the world, through the prism of Danish culture. Open to all, Le Bicolore is first and foremost a convivial space for exchanging ideas, meeting new people and discovering new things. Le Bicolore also has a digital platform offering podcasts, articles, videos and virtual tours.
Frac Sud is partner of the exhibition with Confort Moderne. Lise Haller Baggesen’s work is acquired by various public and private collections, including the FRAC.
INFO
Le Bicolore – Maison du Danemark in Paris presents ChromAmour: une métamorphose from February 7 to March 30, a solo exhibition by Danish artist Lise Haller Baggesen, curated by Kathy Alliou;
Curator: Kathy Alliou
Opening Thursday 6 February from 7pm
8:30pm : RADIO HITO (BE/IT) concert
Le Bicolore, Maison du Danemark
142 Avenue des Champs-Elysées
75008 Paris (France)
Opening hours
Monday – Sunday : 12 a.m – 6 p.m
