Artist Jean-Marie Appriou Explores the Twins of Gemini Through Sculpture and Philosophy

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Appriou’s exhibition “Gemini” is being held concurrently with the solo show of work by Andrew Lord at Galerie Eva Presenhuber.

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What You Need to Know: Presented in Vienna by Galerie Eva Presenhuber, “Jean-Marie Appriou: Gemini” is the artist’s third exhibition with the gallery and is thematically focused on the celestial twins. The concepts of Gemini, twins, dualities, and dichotomies have long been present in the history of art, but here Appriou looks at ideas around these concepts and forms a new, unique parallel, that of poetry and sculpture. Employing his singular polymorphic sculptural style, Appriou draws inspiration from the work of Rainer Maria Rilke and Auguste Rodin, combining motifs and aesthetic inclinations to create something entirely new. “Gemini” is being shown concurrently with another solo show in the space, “Andrew Lord: a sculpture of my left hand and five embraces,” which sees the New York-based English artist endeavor to redefine the “atlas of the world,” one not bounded by landmasses but instead via the human body.

About the Artist: Paris-based artist Jean-Marie Appriou (b. 1986) is recognized for his innovative and experimental approach to medium in his sculpture-based practice. Working with materials such as aluminum, bronze, glass, clay, and wax, at a variety of scales, Appriou has established as much a personal style as a personal artistic world wherein humanoid and animal-like figures exist. At times bordering on the uncanny, these figures and their composition regularly engage with ideas around the elements and natural landscape, whether subterranean, aquatic, or terrestrial, as well as evoke dreamlike or futuristic civilizations. Appriou studied at the École régionale des Beaux-Arts, Rennes, France, and over the course of his career thus far has been the subject of just over two dozen exhibition worldwide. His work can be found in the public collections of the Musée d’art modern de la ville de Paris; Long Museum, Shanghai; and Boros Collection, Berlin, among others.

According to the Gallery: “The story of life on Earth is a story of twins. Ever since the first organisms bubbled into being, tiny specks in a vast primordial soup, they have been splitting themselves in two. Billions of years later, even the largest creatures still begin life as single cells that divide into identical daughters. One becomes two, two becomes four, and eventually, these exponential broods become us.

The French artist Jean-Marie Appriou has a keen eye for the twins that shape our collective imagination: the kindred concepts and subtle dualities with which we make sense of the world. In previous exhibitions, Appriou has deftly illuminated the ways in which our notions of the prehistoric past and dreams of the distant future walk hand in hand. With Gemini, his new show at Galerie Eva Presenhuber, Appriou invites us to consider a different set of twins—poetry and sculpture—through the lens of the Austrian poet Rainer Maria Rilke and the French artist Auguste Rodin.”—Zoë Lescase

See inside the exhibitions below.

“Jean-Marie Appriou: Gemini” is on view at Galerie Eva Presenhuber, Vienna, through December 22, 2023.

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