Purple Art
[October 25 2020]
Salon de Normandy 2020 at the Hotel Normandy, Paris
Salon de Normandy by The Community
Housed in the historic Normandy Hôtel just adjacent to the Louvre, the second edition of the Salon de Normandy by The Community opened its doors on Thursday October 22nd. Expanding over the hotel, the multidisciplinary Salon presented 20 exhibitors scattered within various hotel rooms — showing galleries, spaces, collectives, projects, publishers, and alternative labels. The Salon’s local and dynamic approach continues to support smaller, independent artistic entities and emerging artists, by offering spaces free of charge to exhibitors.
Among the participants and projects exhibited were TG’s “Black & White Surveillance” by British photographer Alan Lodge, displaying photographs and prints surveying the photographer’s extensive counter-documentation of police surveillance and legislative action. The predominantly virtually-based account RareBooksParis brought its magazines into physical display, with artworks by Athens-based artist Irini Karagiannopoulou. Following their exhibition Apparel, which was shown earlier in 2020 in Melbourne, HB Peace duo Hugh Egan Westland and Blake Barns presented their own work which explored the Ghost form in Dress. The Parisian brand produces clothing as supports for curating into exhibitions, performances and collaborations. with a focus on fashion communications and language. They operate between Melbourne, Australia and Paris. RED LEBANESE, Room 619, welcomed a dialogue between two friends questioning values such as family and intimacy. In the room is a selection of vinyls produced by Mad Rey (Quentin Leroy) as well as a series of photographs by Pablo Jomaron.
Finally, we have the heart of the Salon — The Community — an independent, collective-run art institution that is formidably carving out its niche founded on ideas of shared spaces and artistic perspectives. It is only fitting that The Community would organize the Salon de Normandy, which reflects the same multidisciplinary approach in creating space for discovery and exchange. For the Salon, The Community took over Room 519 with its “The Community Centre” exhibition, housing the stories of six artists who reflect on the notion of community in their own artistic practices. Their works embody varying interpretations but with the unifying value of powerful community engagement, in line with The Community’s own message. The presentation of these works serves as The Community’s call to action, in the hopes of inspiring a dialogue that resonates across languages, cultures, locations, aesthetics, and personal contexts. The Community Centre epitomizes the group’s founding values of organic, multidisciplinary collaborations. The Community is soon opening its new space in Pantin, which will continue to promote its philosophy of spreading mutual respect and understanding to enact positive social change within communities.
Find more information on the Salon and its participants on their official website.
Photos by Jac Revald
