The Galerie Lefebvre & Fils is delighted to present Tout feu Tout flamme, a superb group show bringing together eleven ceramics artists from around the world.
Florian Bézu, Ryan   Blackwell  , Robin  Cameron , Patricia Camet  , Dewar & Gicquel, Mimosa   Echard  , David  Gallagher , Chloé Jarry,   Morgane  Tschiember  and Kostis Velonis have come togethe r in an exhibition organized by Alexis Jakubowicz in a perfect illustration of both the relevance and the continuing vitality of ceramics on the contemporary creative arts scene.

From Paris to New York and Lima to Athens, young artists all over the world have been taking ceramics, the first fire-based art form, by storm.

This quite unique medium - ancient, primeval, a living link with our ancestors - precedes glass- and metal-making by many years.
It has spawned myriad artistic techniques and visions, every one of which is a hallmark of and jealously-guarded by the artist who moulds and calls them into being.

Certain artists, like Chloé Jarry and Patricia Camet take everyday objects and transform them into ceramic works of art.
All, without exception, have moved on from Picasso and Matisse and their practice of focusing exclusively on objects used for purely utilitarian purposes since the dawn of time - namely ceramic bowls, vases and plates – and turning them into artworks.

Each artist incorporates ceramics into his or her artistic vision. Far from being an afterthought, the faience and porcelain pieces by Mimosa Echard, Florian Bézu and Kostis Velonis are an integral part of their art. Ceramics, like any other medium, is a
whole world in itself, just waiting to be experienced, explored, shaped and even subjugated.

“This is how we can best understand Tout feu Tout flamme, says Alexis Jakubowicz, - art that is about the very spirit of exhilaration that has its being in art itself, with artistic convention being smoked out and destroyed, no matter where it tries to hide. First into the flames are desires, wings and eyes. Here, raw art is a dish best eaten cooked. Hereby, the young artists, who as makers of ceramics share a common bond, take their place in a pseudomythological story, each having their own reasons for doing so. Their ceramic artworks,
regardless of their exact composition, have seemingly just emerged from the primeval earth. The very fact of bringing them into the open, into the light, might seem enough to seal their fate – to be turned into museum pieces - at least as a protection against their supposed fragility. This, however, is where we would be wrong: to choose pottery is to accept the scorched earth school of art, to agree to a degree of violence or force in the midst of finesse.’’

ABOUT THE GALERIE LEFEBVRE & FILS

Well-known for its expertise, the Galerie Lefebvre & Fils is now oriented towards contemporary art under the influence of its director, Louis Lefebvre.
Louis Lefebvre’s skills in ceramics have been recognized by Drouot, Paris Court of appeals and Christie’s London who asked for his help in expertise works. As a passionate collector of contemporary art and design, he simply opened the Galerie Lefebvre & Fils to contemporary artists in 2009 and while doing so brought together his passion and his profession.
Dedicated to old and modern ceramics from France and Europe, the Galerie Lefebvre & Fils is located rue du Bac in the curators and art collectors’ favourite area in Paris.
Since 1880, the Galerie Lefebvre & Fils has contributed to the greatest private and public collections in France, as well as all over the world.