Terre Mêlée

Arno Boueilh X Heami Lee

2023. 10. 22 - 2023. 11. 4

The upcoming exhibition at Galerie HeA features a collaborative showcase between Italian-based painter Arno Boueilh and Seoul-based ceramic artist Heami Lee, titled <Terre Mêlée> in French, meaning the blend of different soils. It signifies the fusion of their artistic souls through the expression of artistry in their respective cultures and spaces. Galerie HeA introduces Arno Boueilh to the Korean audience for the first time.

Arno Boueilh captures the landscapes around him on canvas through oil painting. Born the son of a French architect and spending summers in the landscapes of Tuscany with his Italian mother, he majored in art in Paris. Later relocating to Naples, Arno Boueilh experienced the deep blue skies of Naples, more vibrant and pure than the surreal blue skies of Paris. The rich colors of Naples, not bound by a fixed name, flow naturally from his brush onto the canvas, filling it with a grapevine-like richness of hues. His works, completed with a deep love for the landscapes he treads upon, yet responded to with calmness, capture clear architectural lines amid the freedom of living things and the detailed stages of light. All that he captures are moments that captivated his heart. Arno Boueilh recreates the beauty he sees realistically, persistently exhibiting in places like France and Naples.

Heami Lee's works with clay as her main medium for sculptural works. She molds the clay by hand, fires it, applies glaze, fires it again, and then delicately layers silver on top. After undergoing several layers of painting, her works exhibit a unique brilliance and elegance. The refined colors blend into the painting, and the decorative elements blend smoothly into the neat curves, as the beauty acquired by the artist goes through contemplation over time. Inspired by old and familiar things, she metaphorically expresses her accepted beauty. The refined sense is a function of brightening up the table or filling the space with one object. Just as the earth cannot limit the result, the artist does not limit the use of the work. Therefore, when you look at the works used after the artist's hands, all those landscapes are colorful. It can be said that it reaches completion in the final place. Heami Lee's work contains an expansive embrace within refined sculpture and shines brightly.

In this exhibition, newly created works and existing works are exhibited together, inspired by each other's work. Arno Boueilh explored Heami Lee's plate work as a classic object in a traditional way, realizing it in his own style on canvas. Arno Boueilh's unique color and light are gently caught on Heami Lee's plate, revealing the elegance and brilliance of the actual sculpture. Heami Lee discovered a classic Italian jar in the landscape painted by Arno Boueilh and brought it to life in reality. Rather than simply imitating the form, he explores and reinterprets the subject intriguingly. This object looks like it's placed on a strip of time. There is one strip where past relics, the current works inspired by them, and the future works influenced by them exist.

From the silence of facing each other's works in each other's workspaces, Arno Boueilh and Heami Lee's souls can be said to have merged. Arno Boueilh reflects on his plate in front of  Heami Lee's cup, exploring the Italian espresso, and silently continuing the conversation. Some traces are more credible evidence than assertions made orally. In their works, one can find attitudes and senses that welcome beauty, even though the genres of expression in the world are different. Arno Boueilh recalls that drinking Italian espresso in Heami Lee's cup was like a metaphysical experience. This is one scene that encapsulates the exhibition. In their works, the souls of the two artists, who have expressed their art in different cultures and spaces, come together like this.

Installation View

Artworks

Featured Artist

Arno Boueilh

Italian-based French abstract painter, Arno Boueilh, spent his childhood in France and completed his art studies at the Paris Beaux-Arts and Art Deco schools. He later immigrated to Naples, Italy, drawing inspiration from the landscapes of Tuscany and Naples, among others. His painting works encompass everyday objects like plants, coastal colors, and modern architectural forms. Through a serene response to his inherent sense of color, Arno Boueilh translates them into sculptural representations on canvas. Naples' tender and sweet southern light, infused with northern hues, adds a metaphysical characteristic to his work. Arno Boueilh proposes a new perspective on the mundane through his exquisite sense of color and architectural form. Delicately confronted landscapes earnestly present vibrant colors and warm atmospheres to viewers, reawakening beauty bestowed by the subject matter.

Heami Lee 

Heami Lee is an artist based in Seoul who creates objects and tableware that are not confined to specific uses, with clay as the foundation. Her works can serve practical purposes, such as holding fruits or plants, or they can stand alone as sculptural pieces that beautifully fill a space. Encounters with landscapes make her objects more luminous, completing the work in their final placement. Heami honors the understated beauty of her ancestors, believing that true elegance lies in simplicity and restraint. 

Inspired by old and familiar things, she creates works that capture the essence of time. Her primary technique of layering silver over ceramics encapsulates her intent to respect time. For each piece, she personally handles the clay to preserve its natural texture, then layers silver on top. This process is about building time through action, capturing condensed beauty and graceful elegance. Heami's works embody a generosity that embraces the landscape within refined forms, demonstrating the expansiveness of ceramics.