Sophie Matisse was interviewed by BBC TWO on Becoming Matisse and broadcasted on April 25, Saturday, 9:15pm – 10:15pm.
Becoming Matisse
BBC TWO on
Saturday 25 April
9.15pm-10.15pm
Henri Matisse is one of the most beloved painters of the 20th century. Best known for his cut-outs – images that he cut directly from sheets of blazing colour – Matisse wanted his art to transcend the darkness and violence of the modern age. This alone has often seen him written off as a populist crowd-pleaser. Yet what we now tend to forget is that at the beginning of his career, Matisse was a rebel and a revolutionary, one of the first artists to tear up the rules of Western art to bring it into the modern world.
Turning his back on 500 years of academic tradition, he became the first avant-garde artist of the 20th the century and was considered so shocking that he was ridiculed by everyone – by the critics and the public, even by many of his fellow artists. With interviews and animations, and using Matisse’s words (taken from his diaries and letters), this film sees Matisse’s great-granddaughter Sophie Matisse tell the tumultuous story of his early life. Retracing key places and moments in his biography, from Bohain-en-Vermandois (the town of his birth) to Paris (where he moved to try his luck at art school) and Corsica and Collioure (a fishing village on the Spanish border, where he made his artistic breakthrough) – Sophie will look closely at how this period affected his work and how the Matisse we’ve come to know – the master of colour and light – was forged in response to the adversity and public humiliation of his early life. Above all, with special access to family photographs, letters and diaries, she will show that without the support of his immediate family (most notably his wife Amélie and his three children) he would not have become ‘Matisse’, the artist we know and love today.
SOURCE:
https://www.theartnewspaper.com/feature/becoming-matisse
https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/proginfo/2020/17/becoming-matisse
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000hqt7
Sophie Matisse was interviewed by BBC TWO on “Becoming Matisse”
SECRET GARDEN
May 15 – June 30, 2021
“As early as I can remember, my understanding of a secret garden was, and above all, that it was a safe place to be. A lovely secluded spot where the weather was perfect and the surroundings, irresistibly enticing with soft dewy moss for my tender bare feet. Although chess is notorious for its unforgiving ferociously, it too, belonged in my imaginary garden. Watching my grandmother play chess was an entirely captivating sport as I was growing up. With a handsome glass of Old Grand Dad Bourbon Whiskey on the rocks in one hand, she eloquently massacred her opponents in total silence, topping it all off with a polite smile after dealing the last lethal blow. This was always such a sobering reminder for me, of just how my own imaginary secret garden retained it’s mystical pleasantness. Over the years, my secret garden has grown to be a place where I can exist autonomously. Where the battle for a good life can include me as a creator, without history or future interfering. The works in Secret Garden are the murmurs streaming in from this secret garden I call my own.” by Sophie Matisse |
Sophie Matisse was interviewed by BBC TWO on “Becoming Matisse”
October 10 - November 24, 2020
Baahng Gallery celebrates its 2020 reopening with More Than One Way Home, an exhibition featuring the gallery’s represented artists: Sophie Matisse, Janet Taylor Pickett, and Zhang Hongtu. The exhibition offers a glimpse into the struggles of the artists and their coming to terms with their individual challenges. Sophie, the great-granddaughter of Henri Matisse and step-granddaughter of Marcel Duchamp, is an American oil painter working in New York City; Janet is an African American multi-media artist working on the West Coast; Hongtu is a Muslim Chinese artist who has been working in New York since 1982. The exhibition acknowledges and affirms that home, for these artists, is not situated in nostalgia. Rather, through a cyclical process of revisitation, they find home in both the present and future potential. More Than One Way Home follows a journey through each artist’s rite of passage in life and is a compelling visualization of distinct, individual expressive forms. Baahng Gallery is open Monday thru Friday, noon to 3pm, and by appointment.
Selected works from Sophie Matisse’s ‘Be Back in Five Minutes’ series are strategically installed in the gallery. Returning to renowned paintings by Gustave Courbet, Marcel Duchamp, Man Ray, Charles Wilson Peale through her unique lens, she appropriates and embellishes upon, or subtracts from, recognizable works from art history. The interplay between absence and presence in these haunting paintings is evocative. Featured as well is her most recent painting, ‘Homeward 1’. In this contemplative autobiographical tondo completed during the pandemic quarantine, the artist positions an errant chess piece peering out over a window ledge into the hazy verdant void, invoking solitude and the uncertain but hopeful future ahead.
‘Mappings of Memory’, a survey showcasing Janet Taylor Picket’s works, introduces selected paintings, collages, sculptures, and quilts from the 1990s through 2020. Her experiential work chronicles her journey as an African American woman, daughter, mother, and artist. Images drawn from art history, Africa, America and Europe, past and present, coexist in her often-ornate collages and paintings, defying linear timeframes and logical geographic or cultural relationships. The inclusion of the shipping crates in which the works were transported to the gallery adds a poignant historical dimension to the installation, referencing both her personal odyssey and that of her ancestors. The suggestive titles of the works on view reflect her creative vision: ‘Spirit Catchers', ‘Hot House', 'Melon Dress’, 'Exotica Botanica’, ‘Thoughtful Resilience’, and ‘She Has An Agency,’ the latter produced in 2020. These works constitute the artist’s confessional narrative circling back with newly found wisdom in life as well as in art. More Than One Way Home inaugurates Pickett’s representation with Baahng Gallery and presents her first New York exhibition.
Zhang Hongtu’s video, ‘Van Gogh/Bodhidharma’, is the centerpiece of his installation. This mesmerizing video production builds on his seven-year project (2007 – 2014), a set of 39 ink paintings that rework Van Gogh’s 39 extant self-portrait oil paintings in the style of classical Zen portraits of Bodhidharma. Revealed in both this video and the original endeavor upon which it was based are parallels in the lives and aesthetics of Zhang and Van Gogh. The artist compels viewers in both iterations of this project to reconsider Van Gogh’s fascination with Asian aesthetics, registering a more philosophical connection and inner resonance between the European post-impressionist artist and the East. Reflecting upon this project, Zhang expresses his approach as one that ‘dares to mate a horse with an ox’. Framing the video are wall texts quoting provocative passages from Van Gogh’s letters to his brother Theo and to Paul Gauguin. More Than One Way Home marks the launch of Zhang’s visionary ‘Van Gogh/Bodhidharma Project’—a quixotic effort to unite his ink paintings with the original painted portraits—and announces his official gallery representation with Baahng Gallery.
Sophie Matisse was interviewed by BBC TWO on “Becoming Matisse”
Janet Taylor Pickett is included in Century: 100 Years of Black Art at MAM
Sophie Matisse was born in Boston, Massachusetts, 1965. She began her studies at the Massachusetts Collage of Art in Boston and later, continued her studies at L’Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris, France. Shortly after settling in New York City, in 1996, she began her first series of paintings, Be back in 5 minutes and has participated in many national and international exhibitions ever since. Now, she is working on a new series of paintings accompanied by a collection of short films reflecting on her memories of playing chess with her family while growing up. Her work is included in the public collections at the Whitney Museum of American Art, The Flint Institute of Art, The Montclair Art Museum and The Francis Young Tang Teaching Museum.
BORN
1965 in Massachusetts. Lives and Works in New York
EDUCATION
1985 Massachusetts College of Art, Boston
1988 – 1990 École des Beaux-Arts, Paris
SELECTED MUSEUM COLLECTIONS
The Whitney Museum of American Art
Montclair Art Museum
The Flint Institute of Art
The Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2020 BE BACK IN 5, BAAHNG GALLERY, NEW YORK, April – May, 2020
DEPICTING MARCEL DUCHAMP, FRANCIS NAUMANN FINE ART, NEW YORK, JANUARY 10 – FEBRUARY 28, 2020
CONSTRUCTION IDENTITY IN AMERICAN ART, MONTCLAIR ART MUSEUM, SEPTEMBER 1, 2018 – JANUARY 5, 2020
BOHAIN ET MATISSE 1870-1903, LA MAISON FAMILIALE HENRI MATISSE, BOHAIN, FRANCE, OCTOBER 12, 2019 – MARCH 1, 2020
2018 ROSE OCEAN, TANG TEACHING MUSEUM, NEW YORK, FEBRUARY 17 – MAY 20, 2018
ALAIN JACQUET & SOPHIE MATISSE, SABINE WACHTERS FINE ART, KNOKKE-ZOUTE, BELGIUM, AUGUST 3 – SEPTEMBER 23, 2018
2017 MARCEL DUCHAMP FOUNTAIN, FRANCIS NAUMANN FINE ART, NEW YORK, APRIL 20 – MAY 26, 2017
MATISSE AND AMERICAN ART, MONTCLAIR ART MUSEUM, NEW JERSEY, FEBRUARY 5 – JUNE 15, 2017
2016 LADIES KNIGHT, WORLD CHESS HALL OF FAME, ST. LOUIS, MO, OCTOBER 29, 2015 – APRIL 1, 2016
2015 PARALLELS, TIM HUNT FINE ART, NEW YORK, NOVEMBER 10 – 28, 2015
PAST & PRESENT, FRANCIS M. NAUMANN FINE ART, NEW YORK, June 4 – April 21, 2015
STARING BACK, FLEMING MUSEUM OF ART, VERMONT, FEBRUARY 3 – JUNE 21, 2015
2014 LE SHOW DES AMIS, SHOWROOM, NEW YORK, DECEMBER 12 – 21, 2014
2013 LUNCH WITH OLYMPIA, YALE UNIVERSITY, CONNECTICUT, SEPTEMBER 20 – NOVEMBER 21, 2013
BONJOUR MONSIEUR MATISSE! RENCONTRE(S), MAMAC DE NICE, FRANCE, JUNE 21 – NOVEMBER 24, 2013
NUDE DESCENDING A STAIRCASE: AN HOMAGE, FRANCIS M. NAUMANN FINE ART, NEW YORK, FEBRUARY 15 – MARCH 29 ,2013
2012 SOPHIE MATISSE: IT’S TIME, FRANCIS M. NAUMANN FINE ART, NEW YORK, MAY 2 – JUNE 15, 2012.
2010 SECONDE MAIN, MUSEE D’ART MODERNE DE LA VILLE DE PARIS, FRANCE, MARCH 25 – OCTOBER 24, 2010
SOPHIE MATISSE, THE NEW YORK INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, NY, JANUARY 22 – MAY 22, 2010
THE VISIBLE VAGINA, FRANCIS M. NAUMANN FINE ART, NEW YORK, JANUARY 27 – MARCH 20, 2010
VERMEER. THE ART OF PAINTING, KUNSTHISTORISCHES MUSEUM VIENNA, VIENNA AUSTRIA, JANUARY 25 TO APRIL 25, 2010
2009 SPECIAL EDITION (GOLD) PERFUME BOTTLES, A COLLABORATION WITH KILIAN HENNESSY, DECEMBER, 2009
THE ART OF CHESS, FRANCIS M. NAUMANN FINE ART, NEW YORK, SEPTEMBER 10 – OCTOBER 30, 2009
THE ART OF THE GAME, SPECIAL EDITION CHESS SETS. BEYOND THE BORDER INTERNATIONAL CONTEMPORARY ART FAIR, SAN DIEGO, CA , SEPTEMBER 2 – 4, 2009
BLACK MADONNA, HP GARCIA GALLERY, NEW YORK,(CURATOR: LISA PAUL STREITFELD)
2008 SPECIAL EDITION PERFUME BOTTLES, A COLLABORATION WITH KILIAN HENNESSY
PENTIMENTI, FRANCIS M. NAUMANN FINE ART, NEW YORK, MARCH 14 – APRIL 30, 2008
2007 THE DEMOISELLES REVISITED, GROUP EXHIBITION, FRANCIS M. NAUMANN FINE ART, NEW YORK, NOVEMBER 16 – DECEMBER 21, 2007
FRENCH KISSES, JGM GALERIE. PPARIS, MAY 24th – JUNE 30th
2006 SOPHIE MATISSE: BE BACK IN 5 MINUTES AND ZEBRA STRIPE PAINTINGS, SALT LAKE ART CENTER, SALT LAKE CITY, JANUARY – MARCH 2006 (CURATOR: JIM EDWARDS)
2005 SOPHIE MATISSE: THE ZEBRA STRIPE PAINTINGS, FRANCIS M. NAUMANN FINE ART, NEW YORK, NOV 18 – DEC 30, 2005
SOPHIE MATISSE’S GUERNICA, FLINT INSTITUTE OF ARTS, FLINT, MICHIGAN, SEPTEMBER 24, 2005
SOPHIE MATISSE DRAWINGS, ORGANIZED BY THE BLUE HERON PRESS,PAUL KASMIN GALLERY, NEW YORK, (CURATOR: JUDITH GOLDMAN)
SOPHIE MATISSE, nKATONAH MUSEUM OF ART, KATONAH, NEW YORK, JULY- AUGUST (CURATOR: MIMI THOMPSON)
2004 SELF-PORTRIATS, DEITCH PROJECTS, NEW YORK (CURATOR: DODIE KAZANJIAN)
ON LINE, FEIGEN CONTEMPORARY, NEW YORK
2003 AFTERSHOCK: THE LEGACY OF THE READYMADE IN AMERICAN POST-WAR AND CONTEMPORARY ART, DICKINSON GALLERY, NEW YORK.
SOPHIE MATISSE DOES GUERNICA, FRANCIS M. NAUMANN FINE ART, NY
2002 SOPHIE MATISSE, FRANCIS M. NAUMANN FINE ART, NEW YORK (FIRST SOLO SHOW IN NEW YORK)
2001 SOPHIE MATISSE, FIDELITY INVESTMENTS HEADQUARTERS, BOSTON (CURATOR: CAROL WARNER)
2000 THE 100 SMILES OF THE MONNA LISA, METROPOLITAN ART MUSEUM, TOKYO; SHIZUOKA MUSEUM OF ART AND THE HIROSHIMA MUSEUM OF ART (CURATOR: JEAN-MICHEL RIBETTES)
1999 REAL TO SURREAL, MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART, DENVER (CURATOR: MARC SINK)
1999 RE: DUCHAMP, ABRAHAM LUBELSKY GALLERY, NEW YORK (CURATOR: MIKE BIDLO)
1998 ACTS OF FAITH, GARRISON, NEW YORK (CURATOR: WILLOUGHBY SHARP)
Sophie Matisse was interviewed by BBC TWO on “Becoming Matisse”
Be Back In 5
April – June, 2020
……………..In the persuasive likenesses of well-known paintings, but all rendered without any living thing in them; The Mona Lisa without Mona; Velazquez’ Las Meninas as a vast empty room, Sophie produced some 20 paintings in all. Completely denuded of their human inhabitants by Jan Vermeer, Pablo Picasso, Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, Jean-August-Dominique Ingres, Claude Monet, Winslow Homer, including by Gustave Courbet, Paul Gauguin, Edward Hopper, Charles Willson Peale, — most notably — her great- grandfathers, Marcel Duchamp and Henri Matisse……………………..
Due to the ongoing situation with COVID-19, Baahng Gallery is postponing upcoming exhibitions and programs. In the meantime, we will be providing series of online exhibitions and announcements. For information about the exhibitions or the works, please contact us at inquiries@baahng.com
Sophie Matisse was interviewed by BBC TWO on “Becoming Matisse”
