BETWEEN 2 SHOPS

CURATED AND INSTALLED BY PATRICK LA CAISSE

On April 4^th, Readytex Art Gallery opens a special new exhibition: Between 2 shops, in collaboration with an organization in French Guiana.

The exhibition, with a somewhat different than usual, but certainly very interesting concept, is in fact an extension of the larger project Entre 2 mondes, of Chercheurs d’art and CARMA (Center of Art and Research of Mana) in French Guiana. Patrick Lacaisse, artistic director of both organizations and visual artist, is the initiator and the curator of the exhibition in Paramaribo.

Readytex Art Gallery has a longstanding friendship with Patrick Lacaisse and Chercheurs d’art. This organization champions local and international artistic productions in all diversity. It emphasizes the need to combine and facilitate a dialogue between the so-called ‘traditional’ arts – as part of the Guianese cultural heritage – and contemporary art forms. The goal of the organization is therefore to open creative possibilities that go beyond the familiar classifications of ‘primitive’, ‘ethnic’, ‘decorative’, and ‘contemporary’ art. The project Entre 2 mondes (Between 2 worlds) uses the historical encounter (from before colonization) between the traditional communities/cultures of the Guianas and Europe, as a basis for dialogue and cooperation between traditional cultural representatives and artists in the region. It also involves stakeholders from the various contemporary societies in the Guianas in the discussion. The project Between 2 shops at Readytex Art Gallery, fits perfectly within the concept of the larger project Entre 2 mondes.

In Between 2 shops, curator Patrick Lacaisse brings together the ‘two worlds’ of Readytex Art Gallery and the Readytex Crafts & Souvenirs shop. He explores and challenges conventional boundaries between various art forms by combining traditional arts and objects from the crafts & souvenirs shop, with objects and art from the CARMA collection and art works from the Readytex Art Gallery collection.

The challenges that Chercheurs d’art takes on in French Guiana in relation to the interpretations of art, find a new experimental dimension in the exhibition in Suriname. From the previously mentioned collections, Lacaisse collects several familiar items as well as a number of unexpected objects, which he brings together in a surprising and challenging exhibition that, as is his intention, will stimulate the public to think more deeply about how they see, define and interpret art.

The exhibition Between 2 shops is on display in Readytex Art Gallery from Friday April 5^th until Saturday April the 27^th, from Monday thru Friday from 8:00 am – 4:30 pm, and on Saturdays from 8:30 am -1:30 pm. Also open in the evenings on Friday the 5^th and Saturday the 6^th of April from 7:00 – 9:00 pm. On Saturday evening, starting at 7:30 pm, curator Patrick Lacaisse will hold a presentation in which he talks about the exhibition and about the larger project Entre 2 mondes.