| Nikki Diana Marquardt is no stranger to the art world. An expert in the Seicento Italiano and former assistant of both Man Ray and his wife Juliet, Ms. Marquardt opened Galerie Nikki Diana Marquardt in the chic Place des Vosges in Paris in 1986. When visitors walk into the grand, 6000 square feet space, they are met with a wide and eclectic array of minimalist works, a style that Ms. Marquardt favors, never to the exclusion of something else that might catch her eye, but always with an affinity for the seemingly simple and deceptively complex work of artists such as Dan Flavin and Donald Judd.
Ms. Marquardt, however, is savvy enough to know that a gallery cannot simply rely upon the names of the artists it exhibits. In 1989 the gallery presented The First Salon des Anonymes, a show that forced viewers to abandon their preconceived notions of art. Works by Joseph Beuys, Andy Warhol, Richard Prince, Sherrie Levine, Jeff Koons, Man Ray and Marcel Duchamps were shown unattributed alongside those of lesser known, though arguably equally talented artists. The only clue afforded to the viewers of the artists' identity was the price tag of the artwork. As Ms. Marquardt points out, "Pulling artists out of their safe market context makes us look more deeply into the work and we become more critical and perspicacious."
This month, the gallery will have the honor of welcoming photographer Jehsong Baak for his first one-man show. Baak, an artist who Ms. Marquardt describes as having an "artistic universe both nostalgic and angstful and at the same time spiritual and haunting" will be exhibiting in the gallery until through November 4th. And in February the gallery is looking forward to their show of Shona stone sculpture from Zimbabwe.
If the tantalizing menu of art weren't already enough to get you on the next flight to Paris (ou sur le métro pour les gens qui ont la bonne fortune d'habiter à Paris), then consider this: the gallery is also the founder of 'Work in Progress' a non-profit organization that dedicates itself to the creation of politically controversial exhibitions, aiming to open an educational dialogue and thus give credit once and for all, to the idea of "the artist as catalyst for change." Ms. Marquardt proclaims, "The gallery has always believed that being part of a community even as a commercial enterprise does not exempt us from responsible and serious involvement in human rights (in all of its facets) and the betterment of the world we live in. This activity has brought us to the Middle East, Algeria, Bosnia and Rwanda."
Visit Galerie Nikki Diana Marquardt today at: www.artnet.com/nikkidianamarquardt.html
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