“It is mine—the little chamber,
Mine alone.
I had it from my forbears
Years agone.
Yet within its walls I see
A most motley company,
And they one and all claim me
As their own.”

– Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Individuals are currently facing unprecedented times with new challenges that are disrupting our way of life. As we weather the storm collectively through this global crisis; privately, we are developing our consciousness in order to define a new paradigm, what some would call the “world that comes after”.

"The Inner Room" is a poem by Arthur Conan Doyle first published in his 1898 poetry collection, Songs of Action. Conan Doyle is famously known as the creator of the character Sherlock Holmes, the scientific detective but few know of his attraction to psychic studies, spiritualism or paranormal activities. This poem evokes the soul of a person permanently in tension with his own different personalities. Each one never prevailing over the others.

This room references a place where the being is shaped and moulded, where multiple personalities present in oneself are defined in relation to the world. Expanding on this notion, the little chamber can be seen as the first place of creation and projection of the self. The intense inner activity that takes place in this environment has the ability to nurture the soul, making the man or the woman richer. Unfortunately, in our contemporary society where our leitmotiv is about “moving faster and further,” we often forget to cultivate our inner selves and therefore strive to find creative solutions to issues that may arise.

Inner Room with a View presented by OPENART features artworks created between 2017 and 2020 by three artists based in France, NAMGOONG Whan, Mickaël Doucet and Philippe Calandre. All three artists utilise different mediums to express and depict the vast and rich depths of one’s inner identity. This timely and poetic exhibition invites the viewers to engage with the meditative works that combine realism, illusion, abstraction, and explores the space between one’s inner tribulations including physical, intellectual and spiritual with the external world. An open border between the impalpable and the tangible and connects the past and the future in an effort to understand and restore one’s inner self.

This exhibit aims to provide the viewers solace from our daily lives, and also serves as a reminder to become more self-aware and strive to understand who we really are, what we are creating, and how we envision our future.

Curatorial theme edited by Christine Lee

NAMGOONG Whan

NAMGOONG Whan was born in 1975 in Seoul, South Korea, and graduated from the prestigious Seoul National University in 2000. After moving to Paris, he continued his studies at the ENSBA National School of Fine Art where he obtained his degree in 2003. He currently lives and works in Paris. Whan creates works in painting, ink on paper, acrylic, interferential pigment, phosphorescent pigment, mixed media on canvas and installations. The artist's artworks materialise his inner perceptions and primordial energy which runs through his body as he paints.

MIckaël doucet

Mickaël Doucet was born in Blois (France) in 1974. He currently lives and works in Paris. Initially trained in mathematics and physics, he enrolled in the Fine Art Studio of Glacière in Paris in 2000’s and has not stopped painting since. Through a highly referenced painting, both symbolically and technically, the artist questions the creativity in our societies. The interiors he depicts are like sanctuaries for reflection and meditation.

Philippe Calandre

Philippe Calandre was born in 1964 in Avignon, France. He is a French photographer and designer who lives and works in Paris. Autodidact, his work combines his passion for photography and his interest in industrial architecture which fascinated him while he was sailing the seas and spending a long time in cities by harbour complexes. In his artworks, Calandre explores the link between societal ideologies and the design of buildings.

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Marion lamy | curator

Marion Lamy is an art consultant and first time curator of this online exhibition. Passionate about culture and heritage from an early age, she moved to Paris to study Art History and Archaeology and Museology. She obtained a Master’s degrees in Museology and Art History from The Ecole du Louvre in Paris and the Sorbonne University in Paris. Her insatiable curiosity lead her to explore many areas from Indian archaeology to the tribal arts, She mainly specialises in modern and contemporary arts. Thanks to various professional experiences in museums including Musée des Beaux-Art De Cherbourg, Musée du Quai Branly-Jacques Chirac, and Sotheby’s auction house and galleries including Peter Nahum at Leicester Galleries, Galerie Arcima and Galerie Mermoz in France and abroad, Marion has acquired a global knowledge of the arts market and cultural environments. Nine years ago, she decided to put her skills and network at the service of collectors and private institutions as an art advisor and collection manager. Promoting contemporary artists through exhibitions is a new professional and personal endeavour for this art historian and collector.

@marionlamy.ac

INNER ROOM WITH A VIEW

CURATED BY MARION LAMYNAMGOONG WHAN • MICKAËL DOUCET • Philippe Calandre

February.28 - JUNE.30.2021

“It is mine—the little chamber,Mine alone.I had it from my forbearsYears agone.Yet within its walls I seeA most motley company,And they one and all claim meAs their own.”