Xavier Veilhan: Architectones
at Sheats-Goldstein Residence, Los Angeles
25–26 April 2013
Xavier Veilhan recalls, “When I first visited the house three years ago, the spectacular and modern beauty of the architecture struck me instantly. Like a modern version of a cave, the house interacts perfectly with the surrounding nature, anticipating the dialogue that contemporary architecture established later with environmental issues.”
A site-specific installation of one of the artist’s “Rays” structures—compositions created by stretching cords in space—will be created around the swimming pool. The rays descend from the air into the water as a metaphor for the continuity between indoor and outdoor proposed by modern architecture. A sculpture of the architect of the house, John Lautner, will be placed in the dramatic overhang in the bedroom echoing a famous shot taken during the construction of the house. Other sculptures and models will refer to the house and its specific structure, such as its triangular roof beams, as well as to the new owner, James Goldstein, who has been living in the house for more than forty years. A new musical piece, Lautner’s theme, has been composed especially for the house, and Veilhan’s Architectones series by Nicolas Godin of the band Air, perpetuates the relationship between music and architecture.
Third in a series of installations in Modernist landmarks in Los Angeles, this project follows Veilhan’s first Architectones at the Neutra VDL House in the summer of 2012, and the one-night performance at Pierre Koenig’s Case Study House #21. Future Architectones include the roof of Le Corbusier’s Cite Radieuse in Marseille (1952), set for the summer of 2013; Ste-Bernadette du Banlay Church (1966) by Claude Parent and Paul Virilio in Nevers, France, The Barcelona Pavillon by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1929) and Konstantin Melnikov’s house (1929) in Moscow.
Veilhan’s Architectones project in Los Angeles, curated by local architect Francois Perrin, is organized by Xavier Veilhan studio and Galerie Perrotin at Sheats-Goldstein Residence. Perrin notes, “this project participates in the long tradition of the interaction of artists with architecture and writes another chapter in this ongoing dialogue, as well as reactivating an important building in Los Angeles architectural history through the eye of a contemporary artist.”
Xavier Veilhan, a Paris-based artist, has exhibited extensively throughout Europe, the U.S. and Asia. In addition to sculpture and public art, his polymathic work includes painting, digital photography, film and performance art. He has collaborated with musician Sébastien Tellier, the band Air, designers Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec, and artist Daniel Buren.
Visitor Information
Private visits:
Thursday, April 25: 12, 2 or 4pm
Friday, April 26: 11am, 2 or 4pm
Please RSVP specifying which day and time you wish to attend to Cécile Ktorza: cecile [at] perrotin.com.
We will send you the access details by return of email.
For more information on Architectones Los Angeles, please visit www.veilhan.net/rubrique.
Xavier Veilhan
www.veilhan.net
www.youtube.com/user/AtelierXavierVeilhan
www.facebook.com/veilhan
Xavier Veilhan Exhibitions
March 2–May 12, solo show, Xavier Veilhan: Before, Parc culturel de Rentilly, France
April 10–July 22, group show, Dynamo – A century of light and motion in art, 1913-2013, Grand Palais, Paris
May 21–July 6, solo show, Mobiles, Galerie Perrotin, Hong Kong
June 8–September 30, solo show, Architectones, Unité d’habitation, Cité Radieuse by Le Corbusier, MAMO, Marseille
June 9, world-premiere performance, Systema, Unité d’habitation, Cité Radieuse by Le Corbusier, MAMO, Marseille
Opening mid-September, solo show, Architectones, Ste-Bernadette du Banlay Church, Nevers, France
Opening October 23, solo show, 313 Art Project, Seoul
