Louise Pressager, a busy bee

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Two exhibitions in a row for artist Louise Pressager, who lives and works in Malakoff, a trendy artists suburb south of Paris, where Mediathèque Pablo Neruda shows a series of her drawings called « Les Ficelles » (strings) hanging on multicolour strings until December 17. An installation of hers selected for the « Biennale de jeune création européenne » was recently shown at the Beffroi, in Montrouge.

Louise Pressager preparing her baloons at Montrouge

Louise Pressager preparing her balloons at Montrouge

The diversity and talent of this young artist, has four leading colours like a four ball pen : work and competition, family and sexuality, health and madness, death and religion. Louise always uses her father and brother in her videos, her mother usually helps with decor and costumes ; her daily work in a internet company is a fertile ground for inspiration ; her short stay at Hôpital Sainte Anne gave her an insider’s look at medicine and doctors.

Causes, uses recurrent themes of sexuality, family and suicide

“Causes”, uses recurrent themes of sexuality, family and suicide

The very simple way this exhibition is hung on strings, transforms the banal library hall of an administrative building into an artistic playground. At the opening, children were watching the short Cowboy and Indian video « L’amour cache », lying on cushions, Louise’s work colleagues had come in numbers and were proud to be, in a way, the topic of some of her drawings which are darkly humorous and intellectually brilliant. The mayor, Jacqueline Belhomme, was present and cultural maire adjoint, Fatiha Alaudat spoke about how wonderfully Louise Pressager fitted in their community of many artists. (Christian Boltanski and Annette Messager live there) and how productive she is.

Le Chantage, (blackmail) 2014, Louise Pressager

Le Chantage, (blackmail) 2014, Louise Pressager

Louise, who has shown her work for the last five years, (she will be 30 in December) has a masters in law and in political science. She used to write for singers (parolière) but her parents being both art teachers in Lorraine, she answered her calling!  When a little old lady asked her if her life was as dark as the drawings, she laughed and said « No this is my way of evacuating tensions ».

Fatihla Alaudat, in charge of culture and Jacqueline Belhomme, mayor of Malakoff with Louise Pressager

Fatiha Alaudat, in charge of culture and Jacqueline Belhomme, mayor of Malakoff with Louise Pressager

Over the years, this artist has deepened her art and dug further into her favourite themes of love, death, doctors and religion. But also power and domination, where « the individual is like a puppet or a funambulist walking on a fine rope ». Her work is not shown at Centre Pompidou yet but you can see it at 24 rue Béranger, in Malakoff, and you will be proud to have discovered a great artist. (20 mms from the Champs Elysées by subway)

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