Transmissions

On the occasion of the 150th anniversary of Atelier 11, L’AiR Arts former resident artist SofijaSilvia returns to Cité Falguière for a solo exhibition, contemplating on Atelier 11’s rich legacy as a historic hub for artistic reflection and creation.

Atelier 11 Cité Falguière, 75015 Paris
8 February - 11 March, 2025

The exhibition is open on Fridays, for special events and by appointment:

Vernissage: Saturday, 8 February, 14h-18h with presence of curator Irena Bekić and special guests Barbara Bulc and Chus Martínez
On Fridays, 15-19h (Feb 14th, 21st, 28th and March 7th)
Finissage: Saturday, 8 March, 14h-18h

The collaboration between SofijaSilvia and L’AiR Arts began in 2022, when the artist participated in a residency at Atelier 11 to prepare her solo exhibition Pendulum, which was presented in April 2023 in Zagreb, Croatia.

Commissioned by the Art Pavilion Zagreb and realized at the Botanical Garden of the Faculty of Science in Zagreb, the exhibition was originally conceived within the context of the botanical garden. It now “returns” through its organic evolution to Atelier 11 — a space that inspired and nourished the artist’s thoughts, further enriched by a series of coincidences linking the three locations. All built in the 19th century, Atelier 11 (established in 1875), the Botanical Garden of the Faculty of Science in Zagreb (founded in 1891), and the Art Pavilion in Zagreb (opened in 1896) share a rich, intertwined history and continue to nurture and support the current generation of artists and scholars.

In preparing her exhibitions within the context and history of each location, SofijaSilvia’s central question since her residency was: How can the photographs of nature displayed at the botanical garden be meaningfully connected to Atelier 11 and its distinct architecture?

I am responding to the pulsating energy of the place radiating through the layers of history that are peeling off its walls. The Atelier is fragile, cracking under the weight of time, like a very old person. I am thinking about interconnectedness of nature and architecture, culture, society, creation, education and heritage, about the cyclicity of life and transformation, about fragility and resistance.

Not so long ago my four year old son asked me, 'Are mountains living beings?' Is the ocean a living being?' He thanked the wind this past summer for bringing him a breeze of fresh air while walking in extreme heat. He experiences everything as animate.

I see the Atelier as animate, like a very old person whose passing is imminent. I wonder what will happen to the wisdom and knowledge this place holds after it goes through renovation. What will remain, what will be carried on?

This exhibition was born in my thoughts in this very place and then manifested itself in physical form at the Botanical Garden of the Faculty of Science Zagreb, titled Pendulum. Now, evolved and morphed like a living organism adapting to a new environment, is coming back and shifts from speaking about relationships between people and nature, to contemplating the relationships between places, architecture and cities with nature and man.

Titled Transmissions, it speaks about transfers, communication, diffusions, mediations between people and things. The exhibition is taking the viewer for a journey beyond the material, to explore through their senses the dialogues established between photographs and place. The cracks, textures and sounds of Atelier 11 become palpable and are, with the photographs, creating a space for the viewer to inhabit with their own individual perceptions, reminiscences and inner experiences.

- SofijaSilvia

SofijaSilvia at Atelier 11 during her 2022 residency

Images by SofijaSilvia:
Survivor (2015), and Atelier 11 (2024)

Exhibition Curator: Irena Bekić

Organized in partnership with the Art Pavilion in Zagreb with support from the City of Zagreb and the Île-de-France Region