Art Cologne - 22nd to 26th of april 2009

Messe hall 11.2. booth B 21

Exposition passéeDu 22 au 26 avril 2009

Dear friends of the gallery,

Despite all the talk of economic slowdown we have decided to attend four art fairs in four months.

New York will be a first : Armory Show Modern (Pier 92, stand 312, March 5–8, 2009). We know it’s a gamble, but the United States has that terrific energy that will perhaps be evident in this show. Furthermore, we’re convinced that the recession will put things back in proper perspective, that the excesses of recent years may have the unexpected result of reinstating the important roles played by galleries and art advisers in the minds of collectors. Maybe people will talk more about art, and less about money, especially since the prices of our stable of artists, both historical and contemporary, have remained very reasonable. Our exhibit at the Armory show will be modern, featuring fine works from the 1950s, ‘60s and ‘70s in the spirit of the Salon des Réalités Nouvelles held in Paris in those days.

The second fair will be Art Paris at the Grand Palais (Stand D2, March 19 –23, 2009) where our stand will be largely contemporary, featuring elements from the gallery show devoted to French painter Yves Popet and German sculptor Sigurd Rompza.

Late April will bring Art Cologne (April 22–26, 2009) in a new building with far fewer exhibitors than before, restoring a human dimension to the event. We are delighted to be returning to Cologne to see our German friends again. We will be bringing the latest works by our artists, as well as a few specially selected pieces from our historic stock. Furthermore, we will exhibit some wonderfully surprising new sculptures by Jean-Gabriel Coignet, who is on show at the La Verrière (Fondation Hermès) in Brussels until March 28th of this year. Meanwhile, our own gallery will have opened a show of works by Henri Prosi, Lignes choisies (Adopted Lines), on April 18th.

A new artist has just joined our team : Gottfried Honegger. We we are delighted to be working with Honegger, and several of his pieces will be premiered in Cologne. The gallery has scheduled a show of his work for next autumn.

Paris 1950 - Auguste Herbin and His Circle made an enormous impact. Despite being held over until December 31st, there were requests to visit it right up to the last minute. Half the print-run of 900 catalogues was sold or distributed. It makes us all the happier in that we are organizing an Auguste Herbin retrospective in Würzburg, Germany, at the end of this year. Herbin has become an iconic figure of modern art and, as Serge Lemoine pointed out in his introduction to the catalogue, he served as forerunner and example for an entire generation of artists, past and present. It was therefore imperative that we push on with Paris 2009 : The Lasting Quality of Art Construit to demonstrate that the movement is not dead and that other artists have picked up the torch.

This summer we will be working with the Stadtgalerie in Kalgenfurt, Austria, to exhibit a major set of works of art construit ranging from Victor Vasarely to Alberto Magnelli via Jean Dewasne, Jean Gorin and Aurélie Nemours… not to mention all the contemporary artists. This show will then travel to a foundation currently being built in Germany.

So you see, dear friends, the economy may be flagging, but not people’s desire to see good art nor the museums’ willingness to organize exhibitions. And I nearly forgot : two of our sublime 1913 Herbins will be going to Céret for a summer show there, titled Céret, un siècle de paysages sublime (A Century of Sublime Landscapes in Céret).

In June we will be heading for Basel, but we’ll be back in touch before then to let you know how the three fairs and spring shows went. Like the Americans, we’re prompted to shout, “Yes we can !...” But not without you !

Warm regards,

ANNE and JEAN-CLAUDE LAHUMIERE
And the entire gallery team

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Art Cologne - 22nd to 26th of april 2009. Messe hall 11.2. booth B 21

Messe hall 11.2 booth B 21