CONTEMPORARY ART COMES TO LIFE AT LE BAR DU BRISTOL

For two years, Le Bristol has been organizing gatherings around the most exacting forms of contemporary creations. Every three months, a new programme of videos by world-famous contemporary artists is presented on the bar's screen. Following the presentation of videos by Adrien Missika, Louidgi Beltrame, Ange Leccia, Christophe Herreros, Philippe Terrier-Hermann, Xavier Veilhan and Isabelle Cornaro, Le Bristol has chosen to continue its exploration of art by lending the bar’s screen to one of the most remarkable international art galleries: Galleria Continua. 

Galleria Continua was created on the initiative of three friends, Mario Cristiani, Lorenzo Fiaschi and Maurizio Rigillo, who joined forces in 1990 to open a contemporary art gallery in the heart of Tuscany, in a former cinema in San Gimignano. In early 2004, these visionary associates established themselves in Beijing, one of the first Western galleries to open up to the Chinese market. Continuing its expansion, in 2007 the gallery opened a branch in France, near Coulommiers, on the banks of the river Grand Morin. Moulin de Boissy-le-Chatel, with its industrial façades, now houses monumental works of art, transforming this rural landscape into a platform for artistic creation. The adventure was extended in 2009 when they acquired a second location, Le Moulin de Sainte Marie, which covers more than 15 hectares. 
 
This gallery is a model of decentralisation, as well as a reflection of our multifaceted and contrasted world, taking the very latest forms of art to the most unexpected places. Today these long-distance art gallery owners have chosen to alight at Le Bristol Paris. 
Videos from five continents suggest new possibilities in terms of dialogues and meetings between the gallery's artists and the bar's customers. Specially designed for Le Bar du Bristol, this selection takes its viewers on unexpected voyages: from local to global, rural to urban, it winds back and forth between famous and emerging artists. 

Galleria Continua represents the desire for continuity between different eras, individuals and numerous unusual geographical locations. Among other things, bar viewers will be able to enjoy a stroll through the heart of a village in Cameroun by artist Pascale Marthine Tayou, who broaches the themes of rural life and globalisation, or a unique film by Anish Kapoor, one of the most fascinating sculptors of his generation. The work presented is a tribute to one of Kapoor's heroes, the artist Barnett Newman (1905-1970), the representative of abstract expressionism. 

A single picture in monochrome, resembling a painting by Newman, progressively fades into lighter shades, creating a hypnotic graduation of colours. This selection by Galleria Continua will also show the latest opus by the tremendous Ai Weiwei, one of the major artists of the independent Chinese art scene. Here, the artist goes back over his 81 days of captivity in an unknown location and in degrading conditions, which stirred a wave of indignation worldwide. In fact, he is still on parole and forbidden to leave Beijing without prior authorisation. 

Major contemporary artists will be discoursing with more intimate and contemplative videos by Italian artist Sabrina Mezzaqui; a major part of her work is to do with materialising the flow of time, which often plays on the repetition of simple manual gestures.

CARTE BLANCHE TO GALLERIA CONTINUA 

San Gimignano / Beijing / Les Moulins
From Monday 20th October 2014 to the 31st January 2015,
Every evening from 7pm to 9pm