Exhibition Review: Rhe: everything flows at Galerie Lelong & Co.
Alfredo Jaar, Untitled (Water) E, 1990 © Alfredo Jaar, Courtesy Galerie Lelong & Co. and the artist, New York
By Dani Martin
Galleries Curate: RHE is an international organization consisting of 21 galleries formed in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Organized by Clément Delépine, this initiative began with a goal to unify galleries and artists worldwide with exhibitions curated around a central theme: water. Each show focuses on how water flows and connects us while also recognizing humanity’s impact on global climate change and water as a resource. Galerie Lelong is one of the 21 galleries taking part in this worldwide exhibition.
Andy Goldsworthy, Red river rock Dumfriesshire, Scotland 19 August 2016, 2016 © Andy Goldsworthy, Courtesy Galerie Lelong & Co.
Galerie Lelong & Co. was first established in Paris in 1981 and opened its doors in New York City in 1985. Their current exhibition, “RHE: everything flows,” is part of the Galleries Curate: RHE collective, showcasing work from fourteen different artists: Petah Coyne, Ficre Ghebreyesus, Andy Goldsworthy, Jane Hammond, Alfredo Jaar, Rosemary Laing, Cildo Meireles, Ana Mendieta, Jaume Plensa, Carolee Schneemann, Kate Shepherd, Michelle Stuart, Juan Uslé, and Catherine Yass. Galerie Lelong was gracious enough to offer us a virtual tour to take a closer look at some of the incredible works featured.
Rosemary Laing, Wildflower, 2017 © Rosemary Laing, Courtesy Galerie Lelong & Co., New York
Throughout the beautiful, open, and bright space, Galerie Lelong has curated an extraordinary collection, showcasing various mixed media. The featured artists’ works range from photographs, digital video, sculpture, acrylic paintings, and more. All pieces respond or relate to the central water theme, whether confronting the matter explicitly or in a more abstract fashion.
Michelle Stuart, Mysterious Tidal Fault, 2019 © Michelle Stuart, Courtesy Galerie Lelong & Co., New York
Some of the works featured include Andy Goldsworthy’s digital video, Red river rock Dumfriesshire, Scotland 19 August 2016, and Rosemary Laing’s photograph, Wildflower, which both feature a “red river” flowing in each of their pieces. There is a reproduction of Cildo Meireles’ Aquaurum, which comments on the São Paulo water shortage in a piece composed of two glasses, one filled with water and the other filled with gold. In Alfredo Jaar’s Untitled (Water) E, his lightbox displays a photo of the South China Sea. However, on the back, an image of Vietnamese refugees’ is reflected through mirrors to elicit closeness between the viewer and this crisis. And in Michelle Stuart’s Mysterious Tidal Fault, she compiles a series of 35 photographs into one frame to remark the effect humans have on the changes in the tides. Their messages and intentions may differ, but each work in this collection is rooted in what water represents.
This collection is on display at Galerie Lelong & Co. until February 21st and is open to the public (with adherence to Covid-19 rules and regulations). Though the pandemic has isolated and separated us, just as water flows and connects, these exhibitions demonstrate art’s ability to ground and bond us.
