Louise Alexander Gallery presents summer group show: Apple of Discord redefining beauty with Rachel Maclean, Beth Frey, Catherine Hoffmann, Charlie Engman, Guy Bourdin and more.
Cover Guy Bourdin’s archives, Vogue May 1977
This summer, Louise Alexander Gallery – the contemporary art gallery located at the heart of Porto Cervo on Sardinia’s Costa Smeralda – is pleased to present ‘Apple of Discord’, a group exhibition bringing together over twenty established and emerging artists, each pushing the boundaries of traditional aesthetics to explore the complexities of beauty and form.
Opening on 5 July and on view until 8 September, new and unseen works will be presented for the first time with a showcase bridging the realms of photography, painting, sculpture, mixed-media, and generative art, featuring a female-strong artist line-up including Rachel Maclean, Beth Frey, Catherine Hoffmann, Oda Jaune, Guy Bourdin, Charlie Engman, and many more. Drawing inspiration from René Magritte’s seminal work ‘The Treachery of Images’, Apple of Discord invites viewers to look beyond the surface and engage in a visual conversation that defies the superficial Like Magritte’s famous pipe, the works assembled here defy initial impressions – a comb is not merely a tool, but a monument; a mannequin takes more than a bath, it evokes the Venus de Milo emerging both classical and incomplete, holding in her hand the apple of discord. Taking its name from this classical story – traditionally a symbol of coveted beauty that inevitably decays, the exhibition explores the deeper implications of our modern quest for affirmation beyond transient accolades.
In rejecting the confines of elitism and conservatism that often limit aesthetic appreciation, the exhibition playfully subverts established stereotypes of beauty. By engaging with the limits of form, dramatised and exaggerated bodily images strip objects of their functional identity, rendering the everyday into the surreal with nymph-like stone sculptures, surrealist figures, and AI renders teasing out the elastic boundaries of taste and perception.
Ayse Arnal, Co-Founder of Louise Alexander Gallery and Co-Curator of Apple of Discord said: “The inception of ‘Apple of Discord’ was sparked by a critical reflection on how contemporary society perceives and values beauty. In an era dominated by digital manipulation and artificial constructs, the age-old adage ‘beauty is in the eye of the beholder’ seems almost lost. Instead of personal discernment, we often find our tastes shaped by pervasive digital influences. This exhibition challenges the traditional notions of beauty, inspired by the blurred lines between reality and enhancement created by artificial intelligence and digital tools. I envisioned a show where perfection isn’t the primary pursuit; rather, it seeks to reveal beauty in the unconventional—the grotesque, the decayed, and the repurposed.” Mollie Barnes Co-Curator of the Exhibition also said: “With Apple of Discord, we wanted to create a space where the queerness of existence can be celebrated, imbued with humour and mischief, while poking fun at the absurdity of imposing rigid order on a reality that is inherently fluid. Embedded with a sense of chaos, each work calls for a second, closer look, using a sense of disquiet as a medium to appreciate the hybrid forms that emerge from juxtapositions: the known and the uncanny, the seductive and the jarring, the monstrous and the beautiful.
Established in 2007, Louise Alexander Gallery is a contemporary art gallery located in Porto Cervo, Sardinia and is recognised as the first to bring contemporary art to the region known for its natural and
architectural splendour. As the exclusive representative of the Guy Bourdin Estate amongst other prominent artists, the gallery has been instrumental in shaping artistic careers. Its commitment extends
beyond traditional mediums to embrace innovative realms such as AI and generative art working alongside its counterpart Fellowship – the digital platform on a mission to connect past and present to shape the future of art.
Apple of Discord opens on Friday 5 July at Louise Alexander Gallery in partnership with Fellowship and will be on view until Sunday 8 September 2024.
The exquisite artist line up include: Amy Brener, Beth Frey, Cathrin Hoffmann, Charline Tyberghein, Charlie Engman, Dani Humberstone, Ella Garvey, Folkert de Jong, Guy Bourdin, Jie Wu, Jessie Makinson, Lian Zhang, Niceaunties, :mentalKLINIK, Oda Jaune, Rachel Maclean, Rose Nestler, Roxanne Jackson, Saelia Aparicio, Serban Ionescu, Stefan Rinck, Uwe Henneken.