From self-portraits, mirrors reflecting our own face to Mickey, we will discover the universe of this woman heavily involved in Andy Warhol’s Factories. The public will thus understand what awaits them by visiting this exhibition organized at the Galerie Christian Depardieu until February 8.
The character deserves attention. Ultra-Violet collaborated with Andy Warhol from 1963 to 1971, and she was also alongside other renowned artists such as John Chamberlain, John Graham, and Salvador Dali.
She will appear in many films. It was the era (the ’60s) of protest, and Ultra-Violet, of aristocratic origin, would revolt against her social class. She is an iconoclast. She is also well-known for her book: “FAMOUS FOR FIFTEEN MINUTES, MY YEARS WITH ANDY WARHOL.”
An opera was even created about her life story. She is there on the day of the opening, dressed entirely in purple, you might think of her as a cat grandmother, and welcomes you without pretension. As we approach the exhibition, the first impression might remind us of Pop Art, but there is something more powerful, more intimate, that captures our attention.
With greater attention, we begin to grasp the essence of her work. There is a spirituality in Ultra-Violet’s work. Although Mickey is very present, we must not fall into the trap of seeing it as mere childhood nostalgia; the artist gives the little mouse a mission to convey a message, a call to reflect, to think.
The mirrors do not reflect our portrait but our soul. Self-Portrait invites us to cross that mirror and discover ourselves on the other side, daringly, we go there. The angel of the apocalypse could very well be in a church, the shroud, the tabernacle; we enter a chapel, her private chapel, where we reflect. Then IX XI 2001 – everyone knows that date; there was a before, and there was an after.
Ultra-Violet gives us her definition, striking with this plane piercing in a fiery blaze one of the twin towers of New York. The artist is a jack-of-all-trades; a universal spirit one might say in the words of an 18th-century scholar. We will regret the brevity of this exhibition and can only invite the public to discover and admire Ultra-Violet’s works. This woman is a ray of light in a materialistic world; she brings a touch of the divine to it.
The Depardieu gallery gives us a magnificent gift by offering us a moment of spirituality. This exhibition is one of the major cultural events of our city.
Thierry Jan
