HUBERT III.
New York City always has plenty of options for art lovers, but it has recently added thought-provoking sculptures along Park Avenue in Murray Hill. Bruno Catalano‘s Travelers have been displayed around the world, turning heads from Italy to Singapore. They've finally landed in NYC. Combined with a companion show at Galeries Bartoux, this is the artist's first major solo exhibition in the United States.
Catalano is the product of many journeys, having been born in Morocco then moving to France at age 10. His family can trace themselves back to Sephardic Jews who were expelled from Spain in the 15th century. They then took refuge in Italy for generations before moving to North Africa. This lineage and lifetime full of migrations has had a profound effect on the artist. His towering men and women are all depicted looking ahead, hurrying to their unknown destinations. Their pieces of luggage hold bodies torn in two together. Fragments are missing from the figures, inspired by a happy accident Catalano had while casting a sculpture in 2004. Those fragments represent the pieces of identity that are lost and gained as we move across the globe.
The surreal bronze figures seem to be disintegrating mid-step and the surrounding environment becomes part of the sculpture. They are dressed casually, even wearing some of the artist's personal clay-covered aprons. The sculptures are in stark contrast to the many historical marble and bronze pieces traditionally on public display. Instead of celebrating “great men,” Catalano puts a spotlight on everyday people. According to his artist's statement, “his sculptures are of course forms of wax and bronze, but they are also the expression of an art that is above all democratic. An art that makes each figure a monument to an intimate humanity. Bruno Catalano sees heroes where ordinary men and women stand.” How fitting then for these ethereal “everymen” to make their temporary home in the vibrant city where millions of Americans move to and over a third of the population is foreign born.
Thanks to a collaboration between the Patrons of Park Avenue, Murray Hill Neighborhood Association, and Galeries Bartoux, Catalano's Travelers will be residing in Manhattan until May 2025. Galeries Bartoux is currently hosting a companion exhibition through June 18, 2024.
Bruno Catalano's Travelers are now on display along Park Avenue and Galeries Bartoux is hosting a companion exhibition.
BLEU DE CHINE “is a dedication to all those people who arrived in Marseille to work. It is also a tribute to the welcoming land that is this city, with its port at its epicenter. From this sculpture emanates a story that speaks to all Marseillais, especially the dockworkers, of whom Bruno Catalano was one.” Located at Park & E 37th St.
BLEU DE CHINE.
VAN GOGH. “This ‘Traveler' wears a canvas on his back, and stands as an edifying paradigm of an aptitude for renunciation. Bruno Catalano, having himself given up everything to devote himself exclusively to art, can only, without pretension, see in it a mirror.” Located at Park & E 34th St.
BENOÎT “is a friend and collaborator of Bruno Catalano's foundry. What he's carrying in his suitcase is the journey of his life, the heartbreak, what he's left behind. On the move, on the move, he doesn't let the trials of life, exile and detachment stop him…” Located at Park & 37th St.
BENOÎT.
L'ÉTTOFE DES HÉROS “has a special status. This faceless work presents two contrasting facets: on the one hand, the darkness of war, and on the other, exploit, a taste for adventure and a certain attraction to danger.” Located at Park & 36th St.
The artist has been working on his series Travelers since 1995 and continues to wrestle with the relationship between identity and journeys of all kinds
KHADINE is “Bruno Catalano's companion, friend and model. From his tall stature, he seems to observe a distant horizon, indiscernible to us. Echoing the journey of this Senegalese man, torn between two countries and two continents, the work opens on the African diaspora's questioning of its past and its heritage in the globalized world.” Located at Park & E 35th St.
KHADINE.
His works transform and play optical illusions from different angles.
J4 “is Bruno Catalano's first monumental artwork. It is named after a quay in the Joliette district of Marseille, the sculptor's heartland.” Located at Park & E 35th St.
HUBERT III. On display at Park Ave and E 38th St.
VAN GOGH.
At Galeries Bartoux, “The Traveler's Cloakroom” includes models of his work and fabrics from his studio that are incorporated into his bronze and marble statues.
Exhibition at Galeries Bartoux.
The sculptures will be on view until May 2025, but the companion gallery exhibition closes on June 18,2024.
Exhibition at Galeries Bartoux.
Bruno Catalano: Website | Instagram | Facebook
Patrons of Park Avenue: Website
Galeries Bartoux: Website
All images by Jon Harari, Bruno Catalano, and Galeries Bartoux. My Modern Met granted permission to feature photos by Jon Harari.
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