Fairs
Following the success of Jeff Kowatch and Vincent Bioulès at Expo Chicago 2022, La Forest Divonne Gallery brings to Chicago Elsa & Johanna, leaders of the young performative photography in Europe, and Christian Renonciat, master of scultpure who has shown worldwide since the 80’s.
Elsa Parra (France, 1990) and Johanna Benaïnous (France, 1991) are a duo of artist-photographers who have been collaborating since 2014 under the name Elsa & Johanna. Working at the crossroads of photography, performance and video, they have been creating visual self-narratives since their encounter at the School of Visual Arts in NYC. Their work has been exhibited at the Salon de Montrouge (2016), the MAC VAL, Paris Photo and the Festival d’Hyères (2019). In 2020, they are finalists of the Prix Découverte Louis Roederer at Rencontres d’Arles.
Their photographs are part of renowned public and private collections in France and abroad. In 2021, the artists had their first retrospective exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in Karlsruhe, Germany, and in September 2022 they are invited for a solo-exhibition at the prestigious Maison Européenne de la Photographie in Paris.
Christian Renonciat (France, 1947), is a master of wood sculpture. His interest is in the materiality of things as a subject, carved in wood through various representations, from the most [hyper]realistic to almost abstract works. His works are regularly exhibited in France, Switzerland, Belgium, USA, Japan, China and South Korea, where he also holds major public commissions.
The extraordinary photographs of Elsa&Johanna and the minimalist sculptures of Christian Renonciat will be shown with masterpieces by Jeff Kowatch, setting up a dialogue of amazing colours, figurative on one side, abstract on the other one. Born in Los Angeles, Jeff Kowatch has been an important figure on the European art scene for the past 20 years. Represented in New York and LA alongside Brice Marden, Bruce Nauman and many other great American artists by the eminent gallerist Earl McGrath until his death in 2016, he is by our gallery in Europe since 2008. Jeff’s art could be described as a synthesis between historical Flemish masters and American abstraction.
