RODIN in association with
Akim Monet Fine Arts,
Akim Monet Fine Arts, 100 Wilshire Blvd. Suite 700 Telephone +1 (424) 394 8480 Santa Monica, CA 90401 info@akimmonetďŹ nearts.com United States of America www.akimmonetďŹ nearts.com
RODIN in association with
Akim Monet Fine Arts,
PREFACE It is with a certain amount of pride that in the fifth year of my partnership with the musée Rodin, I am able to share with you the present catalogue. As I develop in Los Angeles the next iteration of my curatorial and commercial practice, building upon the seven years of my Berlin exhibition space Akim Monet Side by Side Gallery GmbH, I draw upon my initial idea of creating a conceptual gallery, in which the red thread was to juxtapose works from different periods which confront each other through the exploration of similar themes. These correspondences have fostered very enriching discoveries where certainly, borrowing Aristotle’s words: “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.”
I realized for example that upon his passing in 1917, mostly owing to the fact that they went completely over the head of his contemporaries, some of his most daring and innovative pieces -precisely those that make him the “father of modern sculpture,” had never been cast in bronze. Such was the case with his masterpiece The Gates of Hell, but also with other works that we so clearly associate with the master such as the monumental Balzac, which I discovered again recently on the landing of the grand staircase of New York’s Museum of Modern Art, after having visited the exceptionally fertile exhibition of Picasso sculptures, thus measuring once again the potency of Rodin -almost as a full stop, before -and after, Picasso.
After having developed an initial intimate contact with Rodin through my photographic practice, and following my inclusion of his work in several group shows in my gallery, my path led me once again in 2014 to the footsteps of the venerable institution that houses his work: the musée Rodin. There I discovered that among the original bronzes in an edition of 8 plus 4 AP the museum is authorized to cast by French law, there are still masterpieces to be acquired directly “from the Rodin studio.” I was jolted with the realization that among the great sculptures Another blessing came to us through the work produced today, Rodin still brings invaluable of Auguste Rodin. As I explored his practice, contributions to the table. Our path as a gallery has had some obstacles, but equally we have been blessed with unexpected gifts: firstly, several artists have responded to our call in most beautiful ways, emphasizing how inspired they were by our correlations. This has opened a constellation of relationships, not the least with several extraordinarily powerful female artists, chief among which Tracey Emin, who through our greatly esteemed mutual friend Rachel Lehmann, has very generously contributed her work to several of my group shows.
I proceeded to mount several exhibitions where Rodin engages with works of modern art -some by his contemporaries, but also others by our contemporaries. Intere stingly, although it was chiefly art by male artists that played against the master in “Rodin: an Expressionist Eye,” as if to confirm the relatively recent flourishing of exceptional female artists, it was Louise Bourgeois, Tracey Emin and Maha Malluh who so beautifully engaged with Rodin in our exhibitions “Fertility,” “The Hand of God,” “The Animal’s Conference” and “Bridge over Chaos.” Out of this exploration of artistic correspondences across centuries, cultures, and genders, was born a precious friendship with the persons at the helm of the musée Rodin, at a time that will be remembered as the hinge between modernity and the future; if Auguste Rodin passed away when modernism was anchored the 20th century, it is thanks to the efforts of Catherine Chevillot, “Dame Chevillot” as I affectionately call her, that he accompanies us in the present moment, as we jump beyond the concrete, which he so well saw as only a threshold to the world of yonder.
As I present these works, I take this opportunity to share my conviction that the notion of “influence” needs always to be taken with parsimony, because even as it would be unbearably reductive to view as such Matisse’s artistic relationship with Rodin, this is also clearly the case with Tracey Emin, whom I had the honor to receive in Rodin’s studio a year ago -a moment when I witnessed once again that the communion between great artists extends beyond their lifespan. At the end of the publication, I have included four monumental sculptures that quite unbelievably, are actually still available for purchase: the trail-blazing “L’Homme qui marche sur colonne, the extraordinarily complex Monument to Victor Hugo, Rodin’s masterpiece The Gates of Hell and the last available cast of the iconic kiss, “le Baiser.”
I am so fortunate to be surrounded by such intensity, and I dedicate this catalogue to you, friends, clients, colleagues, in short, the audience that has faithfully grown over the years with Akim Monet Side by Side Gallery In the next pages you will discover some highBerlin, which I am very much looking forward lights from the juxtapositions that we have to seeing in Los Angeles. explored since 2011 in close to twenty exhibitions at Akim Monet Side by Side Gallery Los Angeles, fall 2018 Berlin, and although bronze casts of many of the works have been sold over the years, sevAkim Monet eral editions are still available, albeit in many instances as the last available cast. CEO, Akim Monet Fine Arts, LLC
PLATES
Auguste RODIN (1840-1917) La Voix Intérieure ou La Méditation, sans bras, 1896/97 Bronze 54 x 18,8 x 15,9 cm Ed. 8 + 4AP On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the passing of Auguste Rodin on November 17, 1917 the Musée Rodin officially presented the first bronze cast of this sculpture. The bronze is inscribed A. Rodin, © by Musée Rodin and numbered, dated and stamped with the foundry mark Susse Fondeur, Paris
Fertility September 9 to November 26, 2011 Akim Monet Side by Side Gallery, Berlin
LOUISE BOURGEOIS – JONATHAN BOROFSKY – TRACEY EM ANDRES SERRANO – DANIEL SPOERRI – AUGUSTE ROD ERNST LUDWIG KIRCHNER – MARINA ABRAMOV PABLO PICASSO – GEORGE GROSZ – OTTO MUELLE
FERTILITY Tue. – Sat. 11:00 – 18:00 and by appointment T. 030 - 25 46 09 44 www.sidebysidegallery.com
Auguste RODIN (1840-1917) La Faunesse Zoubaloff, 1885 Bronze with a brown patina 17,8 x 10,5 x 15 cm conceived in 1885, the present cast was executed before 1914 Inscribed ‘Rodin’ on the rock
The Sacred Heart April 27 to July 28, 2012 Akim Monet Side by Side Gallery, Berlin
Andres Serrano - Maestro della Madonna del Parto (14th C.) - Karl Schmidt-Rottluff Auguste Rodin - Brigitte Nahon - Rembrandt Bugatti - Jonathan Borofsky - Damien Hirst T:+49-30-25 46 09 44
info@sidebysidegallery.com www.sidebysidegallery.com
OPENING APRIL 27
TUE.-SAT. 11-18
PotsdamerStrasse 81b 10785 Berlin - Germany (Tagesspiegel - Hof)
Auguste RODIN (1840-1917) Main no. 20, petit modèle, 1890-1908 Bronze with black and green patina – sand cast Height: 5,4 cm Fonderie G. Rudier, 1966 Inscribed ‘A. Rodin’ and stamped with foundry mark
The Hand of God May 2 to July 12, 2014 Akim Monet Side by Side Gallery, Berlin
Auguste Rodin
Auguste RODIN (1840-1917) Femme qui se peigne, Before 1900 Bronze 24 x 14,5 x 13,7 cm Ed. 5/8 - Fonte Godard, 2002 Inscribed ‘A. Rodin”, © by Musée Rodin and numbered, dated and stamped with foundry mark
Auguste Rodin: An Expressionist Eye May 1 to July 11, 2015 Akim Monet Side by Side Gallery, Berlin
AUGUSTE RODIN
an expressionist eye
Auguste RODIN & Ernst Ludwig KIRCHNER, Erich HECKEL Emil NOLDE, Karl SCHMITT-ROTTLUFF, Max KAUS Otto DIX, Max PECHSTEIN, Otto MUELLER
Auguste RODIN (1840-1917) Balzac, étude de nu, dite “Type G”, 1893 Bronze 82,5 x 54, 5 x 34 cm Ed. 6/8 - Fonderie E. Godard, 1987 Inscribed ‘A. Rodin’, © by Musée Rodin and numbered, dated and stamped with foundry mark
Rodin Rilke Beuys September 18 to December 12, 2015 Akim Monet Side by Side Gallery, Berlin
RODIN RILKE BEUYS
Auguste RODIN (1840-1917) Pierre de Wissant, nu monumental, 1886 Bronze with green patina 190 x 110 x 79 cm Ed. 2/8 - Susse Fondeur, 2015 Inscribed ‘A. Rodin”, © by Musée Rodin and numbered, dated and stamped with foundry mark
Bridge over chaos April 29 to July 9, 2016 Akim Monet Side by Side Gallery, Berlin
Auguste RODIN (1840-1917) Aphrodite, grand modèle, 1914 Bronze with brown patina Height: 197 cm Ed. 2/8 - Fonderie de Coubertin, 2015 Inscribed ‘A. Rodin”, © by Musée Rodin and numbered, dated and stamped with foundry mark
Bridge over chaos April 29 to July 9, 2016 Akim Monet Side by Side Gallery, Berlin
AUGUSTE RODIN PHOTOGRAPHED BY AKIM MONET
Akim MONET (b. 1968) UNTITLED II (Fugit Amor), 2009 Chromogenic print mounted face-in 1/8” Plexiglas on composite board in custom artist’s frame Print size: 125 x 145 cm Frame size: 145 x 165 cm Ed. 2 + 1 AP
Auguste RODIN (1840-1917) Roméo et Juliette, 1902 Bronze 68,8 x 51,4 x 36,6 cm Ed. 2/8 - Fonderie de Coubertin, 2015 Inscribed ‘A. Rodin”, © by Musée Rodin and numbered, dated and stamped with foundry mark
Homage to Auguste Rodin February 10 to March 25, 2017 Akim Monet Side by Side Gallery, Berlin
Akim MONET (b. 1968) UNTITLED V (Les trois graces), 2009 Chromogenic print mounted face-in 1/8” Plexiglas on composite board in custom artist’s frame Print size: 145 x 125 cm Frame size: 165 x 145 cm Ed. 2 + 1 AP
Auguste RODIN (1840-1917) Le Créateur, 1890 Bronze 41 x 36,9 x 13,5 cm Ed. 7/8 - Fonderie de Coubertin, 1984 Inscribed ‘A. Rodin’, © by Musée Rodin and numbered, dated and stamped with foundry mark
Homage to Auguste Rodin February 10 to March 25, 2017 Akim Monet Side by Side Gallery, Berlin
AUGUSTE RODIN M O N U M E N TA L
Auguste RODIN (1840-1917) Le Baiser, grand modèle, 1898 Bronze 181,5 x 112,3 x 117 cm Terrasse de l’Orangerie Jardin des Tuileries, Paris
Auguste RODIN (1840-1917) Le Baiser, grand modèle, 1898 Bronze 181,5 x 112,3 x 117 cm Ed. IV/IV - Fonderie de Coubertin, 2015 Inscribed ‘A. Rodin’, © by Musée Rodin and numbered, dated and stamped with foundry mark
Auguste RODIN (1840-1917) Homme qui marche sur colonne, 1900 Bronze 354 x 60 x 39 cm Ed. 5/8 - Fonderie de Coubertin, 2006 Inscribed ‘A. Rodin’, © by Musée Rodin and numbered, dated and stamped with foundry mark
Auguste RODIN (1840-1917) Monument à Victor Hugo, dit du Palais Royal, 1890 Bronze 185 x 285 x 162 cm Permanently installed on June 18, 1964 at the junction of the Avenue Victor-Hugo and Avenue Henri Martin, Paris
Auguste RODIN (1840-1917) Monument à Victor Hugo, dit du Palais Royal, 1890 Bronze 185 x 285 x 162 cm Ed. 2/8 - Fonderie de Coubertin, 2012 Inscribed ‘A. Rodin’, © by Musée Rodin dated and stamped with foundry mark
Auguste RODIN (1840-1917) La Porte de l’Enfer, 1880-1890 Bronze 635 x 400 x 85 cm Permanently installed in 1949 on the facade of the Kunsthaus, Zurich
Auguste RODIN (1840-1917) La Porte de l’Enfer, 1880-1890 Bronze 635 x 400 x 85 cm Inscribed ‘A. Rodin’, © by Musée Rodin and numbered, dated and stamped with foundry mark One of the four examples in roman numerals
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS About the Musée Rodin The musée Rodin contains the largest collection of the sculptor’s works at two sites, in Paris, at the Hôtel Biron, and in Meudon, site of his former home, atelier, and reserve collection. Created in 1916, thanks to Auguste Rodin’s donation of his works and his collections to the French State, it opened in 1919. After an extensive renovation the museum recently reopened to the public in time for the 2017 centenary celebrations. About Akim Monet Side By Side Gallery Akim Monet Side by Side Gallery operated in Berlin from the fall of 2011 to the summer of 2018. Curated by Akim Monet, the gallery held three exhibitions a year, focusing on themes that juxtaposed artists from different periods in order to explore and re-contextualize works of art. By revealing thematic correlations, Akim Monet Side by Side Gallery moved beyond a singular chronological presentation to reveal converging currents and lasting influences.
We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude for their unfailing support to Madame Catherine Chevillot, director of the musée Rodin, Paris; Mr. Hugues Herpin, chargé de Mission of the moral right of Auguste Rodin; Mr. Jérôme Le Blay of the Comité Rodin; Rachel Lehmann of Lehmann Maupin Gallery; John Cheim of Cheim & Read Gallery; the Louise Bourgeois Trust; Ralph Jentsch, Managing Director of the Estate of Georges Grosz; and last but not least Maha Malluh and Tracey Emin.
akim monet THE ALMA PROJECT
SIDE BY SIDE GALLERY
All images are copyright 2018 © musée Rodin, Paris; © Akim Monet Side by Side Gallery, Berlin; © The Estate of Joseph Beuys; © Louise Bourgeois Trust; © Tracey Emin; © The Estate of Georges Grosz; © Maha Malluh; © The Estate of Henri Matisse; © Akim Monet; Texts are copyright 2018 © musée Rodin, Paris; © Akim Monet Side by Side Gallery, Berlin; © Akim Monet Fine Arts LLC, Los Angeles.
A NOTE FROM THE MUSÉE RODIN RESPECTING RODIN’S MORAL RIGHT A warning to collectors about the notion of authenticity THE MUSÉE RODIN HAS A MISSION: TO ENSURE THE SCULPTOR’S MORAL RIGHT IS RESPECTED By three donations made on 1 April, 13 September and 25 October 1916, accepted by the law of 22 December 1916, Auguste Rodin donated all his works to the French State, together with the artistic property rights attaching to them. The musée Rodin is vested with the capacity of Rodin’s beneficiary as defined by the legal provisions concerning literary and artistic property. Under the terms of Decree No. 93-163, passed on 2 February 1993, the principal task of the museum is to “make known Rodin’s work and ensure the moral right attaching to it is respected” (Article 2).
ORIGINAL EDITIONS IN BRONZE Article R. 122-3 of the Code de la Propriété Intellectuelle [Intellectual Property Code] stipulates that editions of sculptures limited to twelve numbered casts, including artist’s copies, are considered to be original works of art. In accordance with Decree no. 93–163, relating to the musée Rodin, passed on 2 February 1993 and consolidated on 7 December 2005, the museum limits its original editions to twelve casts, numbered 1/8 to 8/8 and I/IV to IV/IV, including the existing original editions. REPRODUCTIONS Decree no. 81–255 of 3 March 1981 on stamping out fraud in transactions of works of art and collectables stipulates that any facsimile, aftercast, copy or other reproduction of a work of art or collectable must be described as such (Article 8). Consequently, the terms “reproduction” and “aftercast” must be mentioned on invoices and in catalogues, articles and, more generally, in all relevant documents.
Furthermore, any facsimile, aftercast, copy or other reproduction of an original work of art executed after the decree of 3 March 1981 came into force must be marked “Reproduction” in a visible and indelible manner (Article 9). “Visible” is taken to mean “immediately legible”, without it being necessary to look for the mark “Reproduction”. This requirement is not fulfilled if the search involves handling the object or turning it upside down. The word “Reproduction” should be inscribed in hollow or high relief on the base or on the figure itself in a visible manner. The musée Rodin’s sales department offers reproductions of Rodin’s works for sale. All are marked “Reproduction” in a visible and indelible manner. To avoid confusion with original editions in bronze, these casts are made in resin. BEWARE OF CONFUSING ORIGINAL EDITIONS IN BRONZE WITH REPRODUCTIONS! The musée Rodin reports the presence of a growing number of bronze “reproductions” or “aftercasts”, whose appearance
fosters confusion with original casts authorized by the artist or the musée Rodin. When put up for sale, these “reproductions” or “aftercasts” are often accompanied by documents, notably certificates attesting to their alleged “authenticity”. The confusion thus created enables “works” to be ascribed quality sought after by collectors: rareness. One may cite, for example, copies of The Thinker, The Age of Bronze and even the Monument to the Burghers of Calais. Since the original edition in bronze is frequently complete, any new edition of these sculptures in bronze can only be reproductions and casting them without the mark “Reproduction” constitutes an infringement of Rodin’s moral right. The musée Rodin wishes to remind the public that it refuses to allow anyone to use moulds and original plaster models from Rodin’s studio now in the museum’s collections. Any statement to the contrary, claiming that the museum has authorized the use of works or moulds in its possession can consequently only conceal an attempt to sell a work under false pretences. More at: http://www.musee-rodin.fr/en/musee-rodin/respecting-moral-right
CATALOGUE DESIGN Anne-Marie Visconti Claudio Fortugno Akim Monet 2018 © Akim Monet Fine Arts, LLC
Akim Monet Fine Arts, 100 Wilshire Blvd. Suite 700 Telephone +1 (424) 394 8480 Santa Monica, CA 90401 info@akimmonetďŹ nearts.com United States of America www.akimmonetďŹ nearts.com