HEIDRUN RATHGEB - JAMES MORSE
Opening December 3
Exhibition from December 4 to December 7
15 Rue Guenegaud Paris
Galerie Elsa Meunier (Dans les yeux d'Elsa) is delighted to be presenting the work by German artist Heidrun Rathgeb and American artist James Morse for the first time. For both of them it will be their first exhibition in Paris and in France.
Heidrun Rathgeb, While we watch the moon rising, 2024 egg tempera on gesso panel, 16 x 11cm © Mathis Leicht Photography
« Back in my room
I can’t hear the river passing like time,
Or the moon emerging from the shadow of earth, But I can see the water that never repeats itself. It’s very difficult to look at the World
And into your heart at the same time.
In between, a life has passed. »
I can’t hear the river passing like time,
Or the moon emerging from the shadow of earth, But I can see the water that never repeats itself. It’s very difficult to look at the World
And into your heart at the same time.
In between, a life has passed. »
Jim Harrison, extract The Davenport Lunar Eclipse (1996)
Heidrun Rathgeb and James Morse have both chosen remote lives. Immersed in the heart of nature, they bear witness to its slow life and evolution. Each season, tamed on numerous walks, is accompanied by its share of colours and nourishes their work, first woven through drawing, then painting. It’s by getting out into this familiar environment that they offer us, through palettes as teeming as they are expansive, the realisa- tion that this natural landscape of mountains and great lakes watches over and reflects their inner selves. The Moonlit exhibition brings the two artists together at night. Nature at dusk is illuminated by all the stars, but also by the flame of a candle, or a window lit in the distance. As the rest of the world drifts off to sleep, new shadows emerge, taking us into a dimension where another form of life awakes, silently.
Heidrun Rathgeb keeps small sketchbooks that accompany her wherever she goes and document her eve- ryday life and surroundings. These quick drawings become the starting point for egg tempera paintings on wooden panels, inspired by early Sienese painting and artists such as Paula Modersohn-Becker, Winifred Nicholson and Pierre Bonnard. In her paintings, Heidrun Rathgeb tries to capture the essence of the mo- ment as closely as possible. She records snippets of time and space that allow her to hold the immensity of the world in the palm of her hand.
James Morse makes his mark throughout the conception of a work, without imposing it. He uses both his sensitive eye to capture the substance of his subject and his deep respect for the material in the design of his frames. Nature, which he has travelled since childhood on numerous roadtrips, is a familiar place to him, and he paints it in graphite or oil with no desire for realism. Imbued with the influence of artists such as Lois Dodd and Soutine, his landscapes bear witness to the shifting spirit of wide open spaces at the heart of his thinking.
Their windows reflect this awakening, the one of the unconscious, in a contemplative back-and- forth, the search for a warm, intimate refuge in the face of immensity multiplied tenfold. Night, like life, calls for harmo- ny and peace, but also uncertainty, questioning and the imprecision of what is perceived. Diving into ourselves, drawing our own inner and outer landscapes, is a way of creating a language that allows us to express our own dichotomy.
Eloïse Duguay
Heidrun Rathgeb (Born in 1967 - Germany)
Heidrun Rathgeb is a German artist who lives and works in southern Germany near Lake Constance. Heidrun Rathgeb studied painting in London, she is a graduate of the Slade School of Fine Art and the Byam Shaw School of Art.
The artist's work has been shown in a number of solo exhibitions in Europe and abroad. Recent exhibitions include solo shows at John Martin Gallery, London (2024); Arusha Gallery, Bruton, England (2024); Day01 Sydney, Australia (2024) and 532 Gallery, New York, USA. Her work has also been shown in numerous group exhibi- tions, including at Flowers Gallery, London (2024); Gallery Sofie Van de Velde, Antwerp, Belgium (2023/2024); Galleri Magnus Karlsson, Stockholm, Sweden (2021).
With Galerie Elsa Meunier, Heidrun Rathgeb is presenting her work for the first time in Paris and France.
Her work has also been presented at several fairs, including Art Brussels (2024) with Sofie Van de Velde Gallery, Antwerp, and at the London Art Fair with John Martin Gallery, London (2024).
In 2023 a work by Heidrun Rathgeb was shown at the Royal Academy in London as part of the annual Summer exhibition.
James Morse, Old Friend, 2024, oil on wood, 18 x 20 cm
James Morse (Born in 1982, United-States)
James Morse is an American artist who lives and works in Northport, Michigan. The artist studied painting at Columbia College in Chicago.
Recently the artist's work has been shown in solo exhibitions at Cob. Gallery in London (2024) and at Philip Martin Gallery in Los Angeles (2022).
His group exhibitions include those at James Cohan Gallery, New York (2024); Scroll NYC Gallery (2024); Alzueta Gallery, Barcelona (2024); David Zwirner Platform (online), New York (2022) and Galleri Magnus Karlsson, Stockholm (2022).
With Galerie Elsa Meunier, James Morse is presenting his work in Paris and France for the first time.