18 May – 22 June 2019

Merida (Painting for Sale, by the Meter)

Pierre Leguillon

The Island Club presents Merida (Painting for Sale, by the Meter), by Pierre Leguillon for the Museum of Mistakes.

I.

“Someone tells him:

‘Keep away from abstract art. It is the fabrication of impotents and crooks. They are incapable of doing anything else. They cannot draw. Yet Ingres says that drawing is the probity of art. They cannot paint. Yet Delacroix says that painting is the probity of art. Keep away. Even a child could do it.’

What does it matter that they are crooks, if that gives him pleasure? What does he care if they cannot draw? Could Cimabue draw? What does it mean for one to know how to draw? What does it matter if children could do it? It would have been wonderful. What stops them? Their parents, perhaps. Or would they not have time for that?”

Samuel Beckett, Le Monde et le Pantalon, 1945, translated by Androula Kafa

“As I closely examined the piece I became aware of an interesting problem lurking within it. As mentioned earlier, there is a blurriness in the patterns of kasuri by its very nature, a misalignment. Since this is a matter beyond technical control, it can be thought as type of human error, a human blunder. From Nature’s perspective, however, it falls within the natural course of events. Kasuri should not be thought as the result of Human ingenuity but as the product of the mysterious workings of nature. […]

While there will undoubtedly be some people who will dismiss kasuri as a labor-intensive, time-consuming manual craft from the past, there will also be some, tired of modern mechanization, who will rediscover in kasuri a new freshness and beauty. Moreover, the day will surely come when the world assesses this unique Oriental textile at its true value. Especially now, when abstract beauty is being viewed with a new regard, there will undoubtedly be many who are captivated by kasuri’s abstraction. It seems to me that, among the textile arts, the beauty of kasuri cannot be denied, that it is a handicraft of paramount importance.”

Sōetsu Yanagi, The Beauty of Kasuri, 1959, translated by Michael Brase

In 2017, while visiting the city of Mérida in the southeast Mexican state of Yucatán, Pierre Leguillon happened upon a small bar whose shoddy walls were painted in broad brushstrokes of red, blue, yellow, and black. A year later, with this camouflaged wall painting still in mind, Leguillon traveled to the Japanese city of Yame, on the island of Kyushu, on a quest to render the forms of the indigenous mural on kasuri textiles, using the ancient and highly intricate ikat dyeing technique. Working with kasuri master Kyōzō Shimogawa (下川強臓), Leguillon produced textiles that emulate the motley brushstrokes of the Meridian mural in a spirit of ambiguity and abstraction. With each resulting pattern looking slightly different than the rest, the ensuing uniqueness of each meter of fabric led Leguillon to an understanding of these works as paintings. The artist situates these paintings, which he sees as echoing the work of artists like Anni Albers, Giuseppe Pinot-Gallizio, and Blinky Palermo, in the tradition of Occidental modernism. Merida will be displayed at The Island Club where, in accordance with the work’s conceptual principle, it will be sold by the meter for the entire duration of the exhibition.

II.

Protocol:

A. Sales will begin at the opening of the exhibition, on Saturday 18 May 2019, 6pm. B. The paintings will be sold on a first come, first served basis. C. Those who cannot be physically present at the exhibition can place their orders electronically at info@the-island-club.com. D. The price of the first meter will be 170 euros, as defined by the price of the first frame. E. The price of each subsequent meter will be 5% higher than that of the previous one. F. No more than one meter can be purchased by each buyer. Each painting measures at 37.5 x 100 cm. G. No more than 150 meters will be produced. H. The paintings will be sold unframed. I. An invoice will be issued by Christodoulos Panayiotou. The invoice will be stamped by The Island Club and The Museum of Mistakes, and signed by Christodoulos Panayiotou and Pierre Leguillon. J. The items will be shipped from Limassol, Cyprus. Shipping expenses will be covered by the buyer. K. A list of buyers will be published when the paintings are sold out. Buyers may request to remain anonymous.

Pierre Leguillon was born in 1969 in Nogent-sur-Marne, France. He lives and works in Brussels, where he established the Museum of Mistakes in 2013. His work often incorporates fabrics, and his personal collection contains a wide range of kasuri textiles. The latter have been displayed in Wiels Contemporary Art Centre, Brussels (2015), and ‘Tifaifai’, Rotonde Balzac, Fondation des Artistes, Paris (2013).

Major solo exhibitions include: Fondation d’Entreprise Ricard, Paris (2019); MRAC Sérignan, France (2015); Wiels, Brussels (2015); Moderna Museet, Mälmo (2010); Mamco, Geneva (2010); Kadist Art Foundation, Paris (2008). He participated in the Taipei Biennial, Taiwan (2017), and in Carnegie International, Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (2013). He has held performances and lectures in Kamoshika, Ōita, Japan (2018); Dia Art Foundation, New York (2015); Beirut Art Center, Beirut (2014); Raven Row, London (2011); Artists Space, New York (2009); Musée du Louvre, Paris (2009); etc.

With special thanks to: Denise Araouzou, Pambos Charalambous, Tassos Chrysostomou, Panayiotis Pierides, and Nicolas Stylianou.