Henri's Dream: A Group Show at Olivier Robert Gallery, Paris

Artist Julien Langendorff has been busy since we interviewed him last year. Below, he fills us in on his latest show, a group exhibition with Joey Haley, Jérôme Poret, John Stark, and Matthew Stone at Galerie Olivier Robert in Paris.

Last December, I received an e-mail from French curator Benjamin Bianciotto, inviting me to be part of a group show at Olivier Robert gallery. Benjamin, whose work involves studying Satan's figures in contemporary art, said he was interested in my work, and that he was putting together a group exhibition called Henri's Dream. The title refers both to Henri Bergson's book The Two Sources of Morality and Religion and to Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds' album Henry's Dream. I hadn't read Bergson and didn't know that much about the other artists involved, but the Nick Cave reference promised some kind of dark and romantic rock vibe. Plus, I liked how Benjamin described Bergson's work.

The day before the opening, I stopped by the gallery to check on my pieces. Being on heavy medications for a bad bone ache, I found myself in an interesting physical condition to experience the show's works. They seemed to elicit the opaqueness of dreams, dramatic mystery rising over vaporous randomness, and New Age visions... I realized that Henri's Dream was the kind of show I was happy to be part of. Two nights after the opening, I went to see Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds perform live. The stories about cursed paths, death, and twisted figures somehow clicked with the exhibit's mood, which recalls haunted outsiders venturing beyond the starry void.

Through March 3, 2013.

GALERIE OLIVIER ROBERT
5 Rue des Haudriettes
Paris, France
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