The Joy of Giving . . . Zebras?

Do you like zebras? Do you ever even think about them?

Why in the world is René writing about zebras today?

If the idea of spending a Sunday afternoon in an inviting space, enjoying art, and helping your community appeals to you, read on!

Do you dream of a lazy Sunday afternoon drinking mimosas at the iconic Five & Ten restaurant while viewing the art from some of Athens’ best artists? Good, you’re in Luck! Get ready to be delighted:

This Sunday, April 30th, Five & Ten is hosting the Together We Dazzle exhibition in the heart of Athens’ Five Points. This one-day special event offers an opportunity to spend time with neighbors and friends, enjoy hors d’oeuvres and cocktails, and collect amazing art.

The details:

✨ Together We Dazzle ✨

Art Show + Benefit for the EDS Society

Sunday, April 30th from 3:00-8:00pm

5&10 • 1073 South Milledge Ave, Athens, GA

$10 Minimum Donation

Refreshments + Bar Service

The why:

Have you ever heard of a disease called EDS? No? Neither had I, until about a year ago. A dear friend of mine was beset by an illness that was nearly impossible to diagnose, but after 10 years of perseverance, good health habits, self-awareness and research, and finding the right team of doctors that understand this condition, she was diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS), and now she can continue to pursue her lovely, exuberant, artistic life.

If you are like me, you may never have heard of EDS, but it is worth learning about. As you can imagine, the EDS Society relies on donations to fund research and provide grants to help our loved ones. You can read more about the disease, the research, and the stories of individuals with EDS on the EDS website.

As a reminder, all ticket sales, bar drink purchases, and percentage of all artwork sales from this event will be donated to the EDS Society.

Psst!

I don’t want to ruin the surprise, but zebras will be highlighted, and they have their very own space in the exhibition. Go see!

If you’ve ever been to Five & Ten, you know it occupies an absolutely wonderful historic house, now restaurant, designed by Athens’ own Fred J. Orr. It is a joy just to be there.

Pray tell, how do zebras fit into this picture? I'm so glad you asked! Read more about zebras and dazzle and the exhibit at the event website.

Please join an amazing group of local artists this Sunday from 3:00-8:00 pm at Five & Ten, which has generously donated its space for this benefit.

There will be both original art and fine art prints for sale from many artists, including me. If you do go, please send me a report. How I wish I could be there to share in this special Athens experience!

Love, René

A Street Named Desire

Returning to France now is like returning home.

There was snow, and there was cold.

There was space and light.

Long walks watching the changing colors of the fields under the mid-winter sky.

Thibault, in the snow

And now we have a dog!

Thibault has come to live with us; he is a 10-month-old English setter.

Thibault has added another dimension to our lives in France - and that has to do with a dimension of never-ending love. And lots of walks. It is nice to have another being around so that I'm not so much in my head; thinking about art, and work, all the time.

(The pronunciation of his name is "tee-bo".)

Place + Names on exhibit at Galerie des Marches, Aubusson

photo:J-M Gargantiel

I also returned to find my artwork installation still hanging at the Galerie des Marches, which made me very happy.  

In mid-January, I also discovered that its companion artwork is hanging once again in Columbus, GA!

A Ribbon Runs Through It, Illges Gallery, Columbus State University

The Columbus Museum, which holds two of my works in its permanent collection, has included them both in an exhibit titled, “A Ribbon Runs Through It: Textiles from the Columbus Museum.” How appropriate, for that is exactly what I wrote about when describing the artwork in Aubusson, intrigued by the way the works from two countries are connected by the image of the river: "The work conveys a sense of continuity through the symbolism of architecture and rivers. Our lives flow, the currents merge, then break off again for new investigation and discoveries."

A Ribbon Runs Through It is on exhibit at the Illges Gallery, CSU Corn Center for the Visual Arts at Columbus State University while the Columbus Museum is undergoing renovation. I’m including here a few photos the curator, Jonathan Walz, and other friends, sent to me. My silk paintings are hanging from the ceiling, in good company!

Kristen Miller Zohn, seen smiling here, is the person responsible for the entire Columbus, GA collection being created. Thank you, Kristen, from the bottom of my heart!

These original paintings are available for purchase, and if you or someone you know would like to own one, please contact me for details. 

I realize it is not possible for everyone to own a 6 ft to 10 ft original painting, so I wanted to make this work easily accessible and shareable with you. So I am also now offering prints of the entire collection of large paintings, in at least two sizes, in my online shop. You can see the collection here.

12th & Broadway, Columbus, GA (detail)

During the pandemic, the Columbus Museum created the “60 Seconds with the Artist” series. There you can see my artwork in the Museum and hear me discussing it, all in 60 seconds! Click here for the video.

To see a video walk-through while I discuss the exhibit at the Galerie des Marches, click here.

And a nice presentation of "The Doors of Athens" collection of prints can be seen at The KA Artist Shop here.

And why did I title this - ‘A Street Named Desire’? Because I love that street scene of 12th and Broadway and I am so very, very happy that it is in the permanent collection of the Columbus Museum!

Leave a comment below and let us know how you like the exhibit(s)!

Many thanks,

-René

Saving the Jewish Children in Crocq

As a follow-up to my July newsletter and art exhibit in Crocq, I have learned more about the exhibition hall that I described, which was so fascinating to me. After fact-checking my understanding of the information, I now want to share this story with you. 

I noted that Crocq was an interesting village in the French department of La Creuse. But the real story—besides the rabbit skins (another new fact: it was rabbits the tanneries of Crocq were processing) and the medieval towers overlooking the town—is that the exhibit hall, which now houses an elementary school on the ground floor, was originally built as an agricultural school, then became a hospital of sorts, a Maison de cure climatique, or health resort for children.

Ecole élémentaire, 8 rue Jean et Robert Judet 23260 Crocq

From 1939-1942, the schoolhouse was used as a refuge for Jewish children during the war, providing a safe place for them to hide in rural France. Limousin, including La Creuse, is known as a seat of the French resistance. Here in La Creuse there are still many discussions and reminders of the reality of the Seconde Guerre mondiale (World War II) on French soil.

"Jewish Children at the Crocq Refuge - 1941"

Louis Aron and his wife, along with a tireless team of staff, were responsible for running this refuge and maintaining a sense of normality for the children under their care. Aron was the director of the La maison israélite de refuge pour l’enfance, The Israelite House of Refuge for Children, and it is believed that 400 children were saved there by his refusal to declare the children of the refuge as Jews, since only their parents could have done so.* 

A monument outside the school declares:

Qui save un homme sauve l’humanité toute entière. L’oubli c’est l’exil, la memoire le secret de la délivrance.

“Whoever saves a man saves all mankind. Forgetting is exile, memory is the secret of deliverance.”

In 1942, the children were moved to another safe place seven kilometers away in Mainsat until 1944, when the Refuge became known as the “Foyer Israélite”, a center for Jewish immigrants.

 The Journal of Louis Aron presented by Serge Klarsfeld

The citation is as follows:

Klarsfeld, Serge 

Journal de Louis Aron, Directeur de la Maison Israélite de refuge pour l'enfance: Neuilly-sur-Seine 1939, Crocq (Creuse) 1939-1942. Édité et présenté par Serge Klarsfeld avec la collaboration d'Annette Zaidman. Association “Les Fils et filles des Déportés Juifs de Franc” et “The Beate Klarsfeld Foundation.” 1998

*Worldcat note, From the Bibliography of the Vidal Sassoon International Center for the Study of Antisemitism

++++

The interior of the elementary school, upstairs gallery space

The exhibit in Crocq has ended. My painting of the Felletin library sold (thank you, Jon!), but there are still eight paintings available from that collection. If you are interested in owning one for yourself, send me a message and we will work out the details together.

Regarding the shop, it will be closed from September through December for renovation. I am happy to assist you with commissions - in fact I delight in working on them, so please send me your ideas of what you would like to order for the holidays.

A Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page will be added to the online shop, so please comment below to let me know what questions pop into your mind that I should address: Shipping policy? Postage costs? How artwork gets mailed safely? How to care for your paintings on silk? Your input is invaluable to maximize the helpfulness of the FAQ page future visitors to the site.

I will also be updating descriptions, adding new artwork, and removing some of the older pieces on the site.

Collection of my artwork that was on exhibit in Crocq

A new exhibit in Aubusson is planned for September! I will send the details as soon as they are confirmed. The Aubusson gallery will be handling sales of my artwork through December 31; I’ll provide that contact information in the forthcoming exhibition announcement

Galerie Des Marches, 31 rue Vieille, 23200 Aubusson

As always, thank you so much for being part of my life.

Expanding your art collection? Contact me for commissions and/or a private tour of my art, which is available in many sizes & price points.

In Athens, my original art, paper goods and small gifts are carried by:

KA Artist Shop,

Community, and

Athens Art & Frame,

and in Aubusson at the Office of Tourism.

Sustainable packaging courtesy of

noissue .

Thank you for supporting the arts in Athens and beyond.

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