Spirit of Boz

On October 10, eleven young artists from Brussels and Paris met in the studio of Boz. Engaged in very different practices, they have this in common: an object in his hand. All volunteered to drive an artistic exchange, they came to give and participate to the Give Up project.

These items will be sent to Village of Boz (Togevan) in Togo, where a group of villagers is already preparing to do likewise, to receive, give and finally create. Such is the goal of this new project: exchange, create and create from this gratuitous act, for these symbolic objects that cross the hemispheres, and widen the field of art.

Dialogue can begin.

A «Village of Boz» in Togo

The adventures of Boz are continuing in Togo.

The Togolese representation of Julien Friedler’s  Association for Contemporary Art, lead by Magloire Adabra, is keeping on distributing «Around the Boz in 80 Years» questionnaires all over Togo.
In the first days of December, they were in Tovegan, an important agricultural village, 80 km far from the capital Lomé. The villagers have been seduced by the work and Julien Friedler’s other projects. They have massively completed the questionnaire and a Women Club has even been created around the Ambassador of Boz for Africa, Agnès Mukarubayiza.
Proving their craze, they proposed to rename their canton «Village of Boz» and to consider Julien Friedler as «born in the Village of Boz from Tovegan Canton». An honour.
At the end of December, the Representation was present at the International Fair of Lomé.

We are now in 2010. A very symbolic date, which represents the future in the mind of many. The beginning of a new decade with many political, economical and egological issues.

Since "How do you see the future ?" is one of the questions of Julien Friedler’s "Around the Boz in 80 Years" project, we invite you to share your thoughts, beliefs, fears, wishes, hopes,… of what the future will made. Your personal future as well the future in general.

Respond  in this thread.

And we wish you all the best for 2010 (and the decade).

Some pictures from Julien Friedler’s "Spirit of Boz" art show at Mube, the Brazilian Museum of Sculpture, in Sao Paulo. 

First, a video taken at the opening of the exhibition, October 22, 2009.

Perpetuating the tradition of exhibitions like “Chambres d’amis” established by Jan Hoet in Ghent in 1986, «Chambres à part III» will take place again this year in 2009 at La Réserve – Paris : Laurence Dreyfus offers an exhibition of hand-picked artists in an exceptional and prestigious setting.

As part of the programme around the Fiac « Chambres à part III » displays a selection of works, in one of the apartments of 10 place du Trocadéro, the result of a year’s peregrination in search of international contemporary art talents.

Amongst the artists selected are Dominique Blais, Alexandre da Cunha, Olafur Eliasson,Julien Friedler, Monique Frydman, Laurent Grasso, Jeppe Hein, Avish Khebrehzadeh,Thomas Kiesewetter, Kolkoz, P. Nicolas Ledoux, Daniel Lergon, Marilyn Minter, Robin Rhode, Pierre    Rouillon, Wolfgang Tillmans, Oscar  Tuazon, Iris  van Dongen, Katja Strunz, Aaron Young, Yi Zhou…

Chambres à part III
La Réserve – Paris
October 20 - 25, 2009
Preview Monday October 19, from 6 to 9 PM.

Curator : Laurence Dreyfus

Info and contact : www.laurencedreyfus.com

 Photo : one of the works presented by Julien Friedler at the art show, the cup "Africa !" in glass of Murano is dedicated to the Friends of Boz in Togo.

 
Curated by Isolde Brielmaier
 
May 28 – July 3, 2009 
Opening Reception: Thursday May 28 2009, 6-8 pm
 
Jack Shainman Gallery is pleased to present Signs Taken for Wonders, an exhibition curated by Isolde Brielmaier. In this presentation six artists, Kader Attia, Jn. Ulrick Désert, Julien Friedler, Jeffrey Gibson, Xaviera Simmons, and Carrie Mae Weems, use Africa as their muse as they examine representation, symbolism and the power of the image within the social, economic, political, historical and cultural spheres of the 20th and 21st centuries. Their work explores iconic figures, events and ideas that have contributed, explicitly and implicitly, to the imaging of the African continent around the world. 
 
In Signs, the artists use a range of media — painting, sculpture, photography, video, mixed media and installation — to articulate a particular
person, idea, event or time period that is significant to the role that African countries, cultures and individuals occupy within global politics, popular culture and economy. In so doing, they spotlight both the acknowledged and overlooked roles that international players, African
individuals and the continent as a whole, maintain on every level of the world stage.     
 
This exhibition is collaboratively presented as part of a wider project developed by the Spirit of BOZ Collective which was founded by artist Julien Friedler. An important pillar of this collective’s global movement is the Forest of Souls, an international engagement and production of art by thousands of people from countries such as China, Rwanda, Argentina, Bulgaria, Chile, Germany, Brazil and Morocco. The exhibition Signs Taken for Wonders is thus intended to inscribe itself in a broader effort to gather a multi-national range of artists who will be featured in a series of globally- oriented exhibitions as part of the Forest of Souls project.
 
For further information and press photography please contact Jack Shainman Gallery at (212) 645-1701.
 

The National Gallery for Foreign Arts in Sofia (Bulgarie) presents "Dialogues" de Julien Friedler. Intended as a "conceptual and interactive", art show,  "Dialogues" confronts works by Julien Friedler to the Be Art-Be Boz projects that he initiated a couple of years ago.

In this presentation, personal intimate works dialogue with  global collective ones, dream and reality responds to real, modernity interacts with traditions and writing with visual arts, with the intend the visitors will react and participate, since they are invited to answer the 6 questions of  "Around the Boz In 80 Years".

Julien Friedler’s "Shaman" dialogues with…

…the shaman of the indians Asurini, who took part to the "Around the Boz" project.

Exhibition from May 17 to July 14, 2009. Opening May 16, 5 PM, during the European Night of Museums.

The National Gallery for Foreign Art
St. Alexander Nevsky Square
1000-SOFIA — Bulgarie

Julien Friedler - Who is Jack Balance ?

The Christopher Henry Gallery is pleased to present its first solo exhibition of Julien Friedler curated by
Gabrielle Bryers entitled "Who is Jack Balance?".
 
Covering two floors the exhibition is an introduction to Jack Balance and the World of Boz.  A Dante’s
Inferno like quest through the art world, Friedler takes the viewer on an adventure through a parallel
universe of life’s unanswered questions expressed through writing, painting, sculptures, happenings and
conceptual projects. As uncertainty grips the current world mindset the artist endeavors to discover and
interpret this unbalanced world as modern allegories. There is a spirituality in the imperfect world of
Friedler: he helps us to see, understand, and accept the inescapable imperfection that is the human
condition. 

Jack Balance is the main character in Friedler’s world, BOOK OF BOZ, a 700 page epic that forms
the core of his entire artwork. The character continually suffers at the hands of his creator – born deaf and
dumb in a match box, he lives in a cage, able to express himself only by whistling or writing on boards. He
is granted speech once a year on his birthday. A metaphysical personage, Jack Balance originally desires
to become human; frequent encounters, however, have him wishing to remain a fictional character.

The works in the exhibition depict the various exploits of Jack Balance while exploring a diverse
range of communication mediums in the visual arts.  On the first floor of the gallery are 30 original Comic
Strip illustrations –bright, childishly optimistic pages which introduce the viewer to the BOOK OF BOZ.  In
the center of the gallery stands Mappemonde, an exquisite Murano glass sculpture staging the 3 main
characters of the book, its delicate elements symbolizing the fragility of life.  The second floor reveals the
background of Jack Balance: a sculptural likeness is surrounded by a projection providing an insight into the
world of BOZ, accompanied by a unique series of photographs depicting the Lives and Deaths of Jack
Balance.

Julien Friedler lives and work between Brussels and Monaco.  Friedler started his career as a
psychoanalyst and author.  In 1997 he set out to communicate his philosophies in visual form. His work has
been shown throughout the world and at such institutions as Mudima Foundation in Milan, Italy; it will be
exhibited at MUBE, Sao Paulo, Brazil in October 2009 as well as the National Gallery for Foreign Art, Sofia,
Bulgaria in May 2009.

Fom April 17 to May 25, 2009

Christopher Henry Gallery
127 Elizabeth Street
NEW YORK, NY 10013

www.christopherhenrygallery.com

Related :

> Jack Balance (an introduction)

> 2009 program of Julien Friedler’s exhibitions

> The Jack Balance Facebook group