Exhibition Overview
Bertille de Baudinière at Resobox Japanese Gallery presents her Green Earth paintings from 1989 in Tokyo together with her recent work in New York on the same theme. Her earlier work was inspired by the inherent harmony with nature found in Japanese culture. Twenty years later, Bertille looks at this idea differently, in light of a growing environmental crisis and in the wake of the Fukushima disaster.
In Baudinière ‘s original series of paintings, Green Earth refers to “a Nihonga pigment of the same name. Symbol of the link that unites man and nature, Green Earth celebrates the cosmic dimension of Japanese Buddhism, the essential idea that man and the smallest part of grass are both part of a whole….. The artist paints the ideal space of a harmonious universe, of a calm living organism.”1
Her recent work takes a broader view of “ Green Earth”. Baudinière writes :
The recent anniversary of the tsunami and Fukushima disaster made me aware of my time in Japan where I completed in 1989 my Green Earth series of paintings.
My exhibit “Green Earth “ is a continuation of my research during the 1980’s when global warming was not a real issue. Even if Japan was already covered with electric wires, the landscape of this island was paradise and the essence of beauty.
1. Elisabeth Lievre-Crosson, “Blue Earth”, retrospective catalogue, 2005
レソボックス・ジャパニーズ・ギャラリーにてベルティーユ・デュ・ボーディニエールが1989年に東京で発表した「緑土」と同じテーマに基づいた最近の作品を発表する。初期の作品は日本の文化に見受けられる自然との調和に影響されていた。福島の災害と増大する環境危機を踏まえ、20年経った今、ベルティーユは同じテーマを別の角度から見ている。
当初、「緑土」は「同名の日本画の色。人類と自然をつなぐシンボル。人類も小さな“芝”も全体をおりなす一部分であるという日本の仏教の宇宙観を賞賛し、芸術家が静かに生きる生物が織り成す調和の取れたユニバースの理想を描き出している」1ものであった。
最近の彼女の作品は「緑土」をより広範囲にとらえている。ボーディニエールは、こう言っている。
「最近の津波そして福島の被害の1周年を向かえ、私は1989年に完成した自分の“緑土”シリーズについて考えさせられました。今回の展示は地球温暖化がまだ真剣に捉えられていなかった80年代の探求の延長線上にあります。たとえ、日本が電線で覆われていたとしても、この国の地形は楽園と美の基本を備えた風景である」。
Part of the proceeds from the art sales in the exhibition will be donated to JEN, non-governmental organization for the victims of Tsunami and Earthquake happened in Japan 2011. Thank you for the support of Ms. Keiko Kiyama and Ms. Hamasaka from JEN.
本展での作品売り上げの一部は東日本大地震被害者支援のために特定非営利活動法人ジェン(JEN – 担当:木山氏・浜坂氏)に寄付されます。
Click here for Official page of JEN
Photos from the Opening Reception
About the Artist
Bertille de Baudinière
Painter, Bertille de Baudinière, was born in Saint Malo, France. She received her diploma from the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux Arts de Paris in 1982. In 1986, she was granted a research scholarship by the Japanese government to attend the National University of Music and Arts in Tokyo. Additionally, she got her MFA in painting from there in 1990.
Over the course of her creative career, Baudinière has distinguished herself and her work with an aesthetic practice on three continents through its diverse nature and the integration of social issues in her art. She has always tried new ways to express her creative interests. She experiments with new techniques and uses different mediums in order to explore recurring themes in the work. This keeps it new and exciting; which is evident in her current Green Earth exhibit. The work is colourful, vibrant and powerful.
This active creative approach has led to interest in Baudinière’s work from many different audiences in different places all over the world. She has exhibited internationally at galleries and museums including the Islip Art Museum, Long Island; Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts, Omaha; Tomura Gallery, Tokyo; Fondation des Etats-Unis, Paris; Zurdorfer Wehrturm Museum, Cologne; and Salon d’automne in China amongst others. The result of this is that her art has been seen and acquired by many. Baudinière’s work is in the following collections: the Museum of Landau, Germany; Fondation Danielle Mitterand; Bemis Center; Fondation des Etats-Unis; and the General Confederation of Labor in France.
The artist has been reviewed and featured in various publications such as Nice-Matin, the Omaha World Herald and the Cologne Stadt-Anzeiger. She was also featured in the Unesco Editions Collections. Her paintings have appeared in three issues of Le Monde Diplomatique, including the abstract acrylic, Violence, used as the cover illustration after the September 11 attacks in the United States.
In addition to painting, Baudinière has completed other kinds of projects within her oeuvre. For example, she designed the set for Antonin Artaud’s, Le Samourai in Tokyo in1988. She has also completed many videos in conjunction with her exhibits. The most recent of which was Blue earth in 2011.
Finally, throughout her career Baudinière has been active in bringing art to a wider audience. She has organized many group shows for fellow artists and she has taught art to children, and adults. She is currently serving as the curator of Green Queens, an environment-themed postcard project at the L.I.C. Kids’ Art Festival.