BORIS GRATRY
BORIS GRATRY
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Todd Merrill Studio 80 Lafayette Street New York City
BORIS GRATRY By Dallas Dunn
Todd Merrill Studio began representing Swiss artist Boris Gratry in 2019. Gratry’s abstract compositions share as unique a kinship to artists like Richard Serra or John Chamberlain as they do with raku-ware, a traditional pottery used in Japanese tea ceremonies. Strongly influenced by conceptual art, specifically the radical Italian art movement Arte Povera, Gratry has devised a primary aesthetic embodied in the fight against consumerism. In transforming auto parts, one of consumerism’s most ubiquitous products, his works are largely improvisational; the outcome of a number of insurgent factors. Gratry hosts large happenings during which car parts, like hoods and doors, are set on fire and then violently cooled with water. This process of temperature shocking produces a number of reactions, from changing the object’s initial shape to altering its materiality, as well as making
it susceptible to rust. Variations in temperature dictate the metal’s initial coloration, which is then allowed to rust before being embellished with gold leaf appliqué. Essential in Gratry’s work is the appreciation for the imperfection and evolution of each piece. The works could be described as beautifully tortured, but the most substantial artistic decisions are dictated by natural elements – the chemical and physical reaction to the fire, the eventual patina – which are merely coaxed along by the artist. Gratry’s axiom closely follows the Japanese perspective of “wabi-sabi,” which is centered around the acceptance of evanescence and imperfection. The alteration of time is perceived as a benefit where the beauty of the patina will add value and charisma to the work of art as well as a unique authenticity. Furthermore, Gratry’s use of gold leaf to ornament
his works references “kintsugi,” the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with gold, thereby preserving and highlighting the breakage as an essential part of the object’s history. The golden scar is an emphasis for the passage of time, a rebirth as well as the beginning of a new cycle. Throughout Gratry’s work, an underlying idea of opposing forces challenges our notions of desirability. In using destructive force, an icon of mass-production is made unique; the banal, rendered exciting, simple, and beautiful. Swiss-born with Russian descent, Boris Gratry is an interior designer and a scenographer exploring the boundaries of conceptual art. Earning his professional degree in Interior Design at the Geneva School of Art and Design, he followed with a bachelor of arts in Exhibition and Stage Design from the Institute of Interior Design and Scenography in Basel. During his studies, he collaborated and led projects with “Group8″ Architects (Art Basel 2010, ICRC logistic complex). He was then hired at the international exhibition design studio in Stuttgart, Atelier Bruckner, in the competition department with projects such as Frankfurt’s BMW museum. He
joined the Geneva Opera House as Assistant stage manager for Umberto Giordano‘s “Andrea Chenier” and Mozarts‘s “Abduction from the Seraglio.”
Infinity, 2019 modified car hoods, 23.75kt Rosenoble gold leaf 90h x 126w x 8d in 228.60h x 320.04w x 20.32d cm
Rusted Values No. 12, 2014 modified Alfa Romeo car hoods, 23.75kt Rosenoble gold leaf 51h x 55w x 8d in / 129.54h x 139.70w x 20.32d cm
Rusted Values No.16 Jaguar E Type ‘61, 2019 calamine car hoods, 23.75kt Rosenoble gold leaf 71h x 10w x 20d in / 180h x 177w x 50d cm
Nightsky, 2021 modified car hoods, 23.75kt Rosenoble gold leaf 31h x 47w x 2d in / 78.74h x 119.38w x 5.08d cm
Neptune, 2019 modified car hoods, 23.75kt Rosenoble gold leaf 31.50h x 31.50w x 3.35d in / 80h x 80w x 8.50d cm
One of Gratry’s most ambitious work to date is an assemblage of rusted car hoods and various other scrap metal in the form of a domed tea house, titled “Atomic Igloo.” In traditional Japanese culture the tea room is a place where one should feel as though they are in a completely different world. The entrance to the tearoom, the “nijiriguchi,” is generally a small opening through which guests must enter on their knees. Gratry has used the existing die cuts in the various car hoods and car frames as a source of natural light. As light filters through, it will reflect off of the gold leaf interior, bathing the space within in golden light and creating an illusion of spaciousness and tranquility.
Atomic Igloo, 2021 modified car hoods, 23.75kt Rosenoble gold leaf 98h x 98.50w x 98.50d in / 248.92h x 250.19w x 250.19d cm
SOLO SHOWS 2018 HUMANITART, Cartography, , Geneva, CH 2017 ESPACE L, Legacy, , Geneva, CH 2016 FOOUND, Lost End, Geneva, CH 2015 HILLURST MANOR, Hollywood_Fallen Angels, Los Angeles, USA. 2014 CAC Contemporary Art Bulding, Asteroïd I love you, Geneva, CH 2013 JL Fine Art, Alchemy, Quartier de l‘Étoile, Geneva,CH 2012 LE GARAGE Art space, The American Dream, Geneva, CH 2012 ALTERNATIV, Rusting Values, Nuit des bains, Geneva, CH 2011 12SUR12 Art space, Atomic Igloo 1, Geneva, CH GROUP SHOWS 2019 DESIGN MIAMI, Todd Merrill Studio, Miami, USA 2019 PAD London, Todd Merrill Studio, London, UK. 2019 Sth HEMPTON Summer Show, Todd Merrill Studio, NYC, USA. 2014 MAGNOLIA, Ephémère, , Geneva, CH 2013 FORDE Art space, Usine Genevoise, , Geneva, CH 2012 LE GARAGE Art space, The artist, Geneva, CH 2011 DESIGN DAYS, Auditorium Arditi, Geneva, CH EXHIBITION DESIGN & ARCHITECTURE 2012 ART GENEVE, JL Fine Art, Geneva, CH 2010 ART BASEL, Group8 Architectes, Basel, CH 2010 SNHM, Atelier Brückner, Stuttgart, DE. 2008 ICRC, Group8 Architectes, Geneva, CH University 2006-2009 FHNW-HGK, Academy of Art, Basel, Switzerland. BACHELOR OF ART Interoir Architecture & Scenography. 2002-2006 HEAD, University for applied Arts, Geneva, Switzerland. CFC Interior Designer.
PERFORMANCE & SCENOGRAPHY 2020 Atomic Igloo 3.0_Chashitsu, Tea Ceremony, Geneva, CH 2014 CAC Contemporary Art Bulding, Asteroïd I love you, Geneva, CH 2012 LE GARAGE Art space, Atomic Igloo 2, Urban Instalation, Geneva, CH 2011 OUBIEN Art space, Rusting Tradition, Tea Pavillon, Geneva, CH 2010 ABUNDZU Festival, Stahlbaum, Schatzalp, Davos, CH 2008 SCENOGRAPHERS FESTIVAL, Staging the City, Basel, CH 2006 T50 Theatre, Eclâts d‘Artaud, Geneva, CH