Opera Gallery: 3rd anniversarys sweet show
By Ines Min
Opera Gallery in Cheongdam-dong, southern Seoul, celebrates its third anniversary this month with an exhibition of the two bold-palettes of French artists Claude Hemeret and Jenkell.
“French Mood” runs through Dec. 5 and comprises a showcase full of lush oil-paint bouquets and varnished plexiglass bonbons: luxury and sweet decadence.
Hemeret, a graduate of the Ecole Nationale des Arts Decoratifs in Nice, reflects his own upbringing of affluence and joie de vivre through his rich landscapes and floral depictions. Though the artist, at 81, has likely seen more ups and downs than much of his audience, Hemeret nonetheless finds a pure satisfaction in the velvety solids of his paints, inevitably drawing in his viewers.
On the other hand, Jenkell seeks tranquility within the smooth finishes of Plexiglass (or the French version Altuglas) and varnish. Known for her enlarged sculptures of delectable bonbons (the crinkle of the wrapper tangible upon observation), the artist has mastered the folds of the material, which came to her through instinct.
After studying the formative arts at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Cannes, learning to paint with oils, acrylics, draw nudes, et al, the artist realized her passion lay elsewhere. The mother of two, Jenkell decided to take inspiration from the candy dish in her home, and melted small bonbons in her kitchen oven to use as a new material. The result was a mixed media work of sugars, resin and acrylic, protected behind a shield of plexiglass.
As her work grew, so did her pile of plexi, and Jenkell soon decided to recycle the leftover material, melting it down like the candy in order to give it a new shape.
“I removed it from the oven and I realized that I could just use it and make a sculpture,” the artist told The Korea Times in a recent interview.
“So, instinctively, just like when I was a little kid — bored somewhere at a dinner party or at school, I used to have a piece of paper and do this with my hands,” she breaks off, emphasizing her works with a rotating gesture, mimicking the twisted shape of a foil candy wrapper.
“I was so surprised by the shape,” added Jenkell, whose artist name is an amalgamation of her daughters’ Jennifer and Kelly, and felt an immediate affinity for the shape that was to become her branding mark.
Though the 45-year-old has now expanded her repertoire of materials to include aluminum, bronze and polyester, plexiglass has remained her challenge and mainstay.
While her new, branching series can be easily cast in more common materials, Jenkell believes it important to work out techniques in which to manipulate the plexiglass for her pieces.
While her works are not always the epitome of “happy” (one work shows bottles of Hoegaarden beer bursting from the belly of a bonbon), the image stays the same: merely an evolution of the artist and her work.
One of her most recognizable series takes an international approach — national flags painted directly onto the solid-colored bonbons, in an artistic salute. Other works incorporate iconic images such as Grace Kelly or the Hermes logo.
“I think the candy is great, with the flavors, the colors; there are so many things about that little piece of... nothing really,” Jenkell paused, “and it’s universal. For me it’s important as an artist that I can talk to everyone in any country.”
Surprisingly, the artist herself did not grow up with bonbons, as her parents forbade the sweet. “But my brother, who is three years younger, he was allowed to have candy, so there was a bit of jealously,” Jenkell laughs easily. “Now, I’m having a kind of revenge.”
Opera Gallery has locations in more than 11 major cities, including Paris, New York, London and Dubai.
The Seoul branched opened three years ago in the first floor of the Nature Poem Building — the first of eight galleries that currently house exhibition halls. Located near exit 9 of Cheongdam Station, subway line 7.
For more information, visit www.operagallery.com or call (02) 3446-0070.