Johan Creten and Josh Sperling at Perrotin

If you were looking for the best way to start 2018 on the right foot, you certainly didn’t miss the double opening at Perrotin last night. In its Parisian spaces in the rue de Turenne, the gallery inaugurated its two back-to-school exhibitions: “Sunrise/Sunset” by Johan Creten and “Chasing Rainbows” by young Josh Sperling. In the courtyard of the gallery, the monumental “De Gier”, a bronze bird by Johan Creten, welcomed guests for a journey between light and dark. The Belgian artist’s works (some monumental, others more intimate, such as portraits of veiled women, and all marked by a strong political message) seem to evolve in a space where light seeks its place in darkness. A little further on, it is a first for Josh Sperling, the young New Yorker who unveils here his first exhibition at the Perrotin gallery. If Johan Creten’s work is characterized by its share of shadow, Sperling’s “composite” works assume color without complex. The artist creates an in-between between painting and sculpture with hypnotic assemblies. The exhibition’s flagship piece, “From New to the Eons of Oblivion”, is similar to cutting a rainbow. After the (double) visit, Emmanuel Perrotin’s guests sat down in the ballroom for an intimate dinner concocted by chef Pierre Gagnaire. The opportunity to review the faces of cultural Paris like Sophie Calle (still in the spotlight at the Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature), Sarah Andelman or Samuel Boutruche, in the company of the two artists to share this moment that sounded like a post-holiday reunion. The highlight of the evening, Juliette Armanet offered a concert at the piano in situ by candlelight, enough to give the beautiful kick-off of a year 2018 that is predicted to be cultural at will…

“Sunrise / Sunset”, Johan Creten at the Perrotin Gallery from January 10 to March 10, 2018

“Chasing Rainbows”, Josh Sperling at the Perrotin Gallery from January 10 to February 24, 2018