Fred Torres and Alain Briscadieu-Farjas are very excited to present works by nine French masters. An opening reception will be held this Thursday, May 30th from 6-8pm.
 
The exhibition marks a unprecedented demonstration of contemporary French talent, the first major New York exhibition of painter Jean-Claude Farjas, and an introduction to our newest artist, photographer Seb Janiak. A limited-edition catalogue will be available to accompany this exhibition, featuring a critical essay by Carter Ratcliff, The Art of Reverie.
 
“From the earliest days of the republic, American artists followed France’s lead. So did the artists of many other countries. Then, in the aftermath of the Second World War, Americans felt a new sense of independence. New York took the place of Paris as the capital of advanced art and New Yorkers paid little attention to the world beyond their city—or, to be more precise, beyond the island of Manhattan. In recent decades, borders have been blurred. Visions have enlarged and the world of art has become international. Nonetheless, French art is still underrepresented in New York, which has meant that the legacy of a great visionary tradition has not been felt for decades... As the title of this exhibition notes, we share the same sky. We share as well the power to determine for ourselves the nature of everything the light of that sky reveals.”
 
— Carter Ratcliff
 
from The Art of Reverie

The Italian Antonio Marzi was positioned in Udine between 1944 and 1945 where he wrote a diary including observations of the events important to the war. This information was transferred to a contact person encrypted. Later, he forgot his own system of encoding, so that nobody including himself was able to read the notes. Marzi recalled, that the encryption was based on the line Un giovinetto pallido e bello of the poem Corradino di Svevia by Aleardo Aleardi. The code was cracked on February 23rd 2013.
 
Agnes Lux is an artist living and working in New York City. A catalog available at Martos Gallery will be published on the ocassion of the exhibition.
 
For further information please contact Mary Grace Wright at gracie@martosgallery.com or 212-560-0670