2023-11-19 11:00:37
EXPO – After street art, “Parking expo”. Fabienne Benveniste, painter of lyrical figurative abstraction, exhibits at Parking Blanche Pigalle, a stone’s throw from the Moulin Rouge. A notable ephemeral gallery, a sort of free alternative museum.
Fabienne Benveniste is a personality from the New Athens district. Last March, she exhibited her works in the magnificent 18th century salons of the Hôtel d’Augny where the town hall of the 9th arrondissement of Paris is located.
Change of scenery, last November 7. Head to the Blanche Pigalle car park, formerly called the Mansart garage, a few steps from the Moulin-Rouge. It is a family business run by André Loubriat, grandson of the founder.
Fabienne Benveniste (Artprice rating) inaugurates the first edition of “Parking expo”, a registered trademark. She presents seven of her paintings in this enclosure selected for its capacity to accommodate artistic works.
Farewell to the gold and splendor of the Republic. Make way for asphalt, neon lights and cameras.
“I like to break away from frames and shackles. It’s boring to only exhibit in conventional places. Besides, if I could paint without a frame, I would”, enjoys highlighting the artist, a regular at prestigious galleries, and invited to exhibit at the Westminster Hotel, the Marriott Champs-Élysées in Paris, the Hôtel de Paris in Monaco…
Of course, the Blanche Pigalle car park retains its activity as a car and motorcycle garage (without repairs). You enter directly, without going through a gate with a badge to park your car. The old-fashioned way, under the watchful eye of the guard, a familiar and reassuring figure for customers!
The place lends itself wonderfully to this exposition underground, because the canvases are huge. They catch your eye as soon as you enter, at 7, rue Mansart in the 9th arrondissement, the district of Degas, Renoir, Chopin…
So, The Parisianin front of which Fabienne lends herself to a photo shoot, is 2.27 meters high and 1.37 meters wide. The Venetian (1.95 x 1 m), the only man represented on the canvases, unfolds voluptuously among sculptural women.
Opening reception with baked potatoes, champagne and music
A discreet little padlock on the left side of the paintings reminds us that we are in an ephemeral gallery, a sort of free alternative museumthanks to the complicity of the owner of the premises.
Here, there is no gallery owner who charges for the rental of the space and receives his commission on the amount of sales. If you have a crush on a painting, you can directly contact the artist whose name and contact details appear on the wall.
An original and clever concept initiated by decorator Eric Perdrizet who likes to combine art and neighborhood life.
Nearly eighty people came to admire the artist’s paintings during the opening.. Dephine Bürkli, mayor of the 9th arrondissementcame to show her enthusiasm for this unique enterprise.
It was cold, you had to keep your coat on. Were we going to eat three peanuts and drink the bottom of a bottle of red wine? No. A buffet of food (garnished potatoes, salads, biscuits, etc.) and a few bubbles of champagne delighted the guests. A successful happening thanks to the generous participation of local merchants: Le Biscuit Alain Ducasse, Terroir & Nature, Au 88, Aux Délices du moulin…
A car crosses the gallery © Corine Moriou
And then suddenly rose the sweetest of Ave Maria performed by soprano Julia Vdovina accompanied on the piano by Christophe Ghenassia.
“It’s the first gallery that we pass by car! I’m thinking of organizing other events in different parking lots in Paris. This allows artists, who cannot exhibit, given the conditions imposed on them by galleries, to present their work without spending large sums of money”explains Eric Perdrizet pragmatically.
Women in movement embody an elegance of soul and feelings
Fabienne Benveniste poses in front of her painting “Diane Chasseresse” © Corine Moriou
Fabienne Benveniste is a unique personality, both gentle and determined, in love with freedom. She doesn’t seem to belong to our century, but we imagine her coming out of a Botticelli painting, traveling through the ages, changing costume according to circumstances.
A flamboyant woman, with abundant brown hair, her gestures are ample, broad, generous, without restraint. “My imagination springs forth, I don’t know what I’m going to paint, I let myself be guided”, explains the artist who paints immense canvases in a workshop nestled on the top floor of a 19th century building on rue Saint-Georges.
She has a very particular style, which is unique to her, that of a painter of lyrical figurative abstraction. She paints with her ear. His work is nourished by operas. Verdi, Bizet, Vivaldi accompany his work.
In his artistic pantheon, we find Joan Mitchell, an American artist part of the abstract expressionism movement Americanwho lived part of his life in Paris, then in Vétheuil, the village where Monet resided in his lean years (1879-1881).
The two painters have in common a love of nature, the flow of colors which collide and structure the space like a flowering. They think big and dare to create monumental, vertical pieces, which can take the form of diptychs.
Marked by her childhood in the family textile business, Fabienne Benveniste does not use a classic canvas, but of the toile de Jouy. She obtains this precious fabric at the Marché Saint-Pierre or at Charles Burger (4 rue du Mail, in the 4th arrondissement) who is currently exhibiting one of his paintings on the theme of Robinson Crusoe.
Warriors in battle, country parties, romantic trysts of yesteryear are printed on the canvas, then superimposed, and blend into his own settings. Sketched female bodies can be guessed, asserting themselves sometimes dressed in long dresses, sometimes half or completely naked.
Fabienne Benveniste draws charcoal lines, uses powdered pigments and dry pastels and throws spots of color to the rhythm of the music that floods her studio.
“These women are in movement, it is the movement of life. They embody an elegance of soul and feelings. They are represented without heads, which gives more power to my expression”points out the visual artist.
A unique exhibition to discover on site at 7 rue Mansart 75009 Paris, until November 30, 2023. To find out more:
Fabienne Benveniste in her workshop explains her work. a film by Frédérique Chapuis. The New Nine.
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