L21 and JPS Gallery are pleased to present this collaboration in which both galleries join forces to curate the first group exhibition of artists represented by the Spanish gallery L21 at JPS Gallery in Paris.

During the tour through the two floors of the exhibition space, the spectator will witness the dialogue established between the works of the 8 artists that comprise the exhibition.

Different languages coexist in a microcosm of form and colour that ranges from the sculptures of fantastic characters by Mira Makai to the intimate and suggestive photographs of Pixy Liao, passing through the elegant drawings of seated figures by Geran Knol or the surreal and tragi- comical worlds of the Catalan painter Marc Badia.

Like a good radio programme in which one discovers song after song a musical universe that one was unaware of until a few minutes ago, in this exhibition the spectator will come across the works of artists who are sure not to leave the viewer indifferent.

Participating Artists

Álvaro Gil

Álvaro Gil (Corella, 1986) has a degree in Fine Arts and a PhD from the University of the Basque Country. Gil’s artistic process questions the separation between high and low culture. His constructions are based on the concept of customization, tailor-made transformations which from a “brick-layer” attitude achieve brilliant and unexpected results. His research is linked to the practice of DIY (Do It Yourself) and «non-consumption». He conceives objects that through the incorporation of transformative casings acquire a new value, formally precious and conceptually critical. A processual and relational attitude that, through recycling and assembly, achieves complex forms. Artifacts where the functional and the aesthetic meet in unexpected conformity.

Since 2008 he has had several solo exhibitions in galleries such as Satélite in Querétaro, Mexico; Louis 21 in Palma de Mallorca or Raquel Ponce in Madrid, as well as in institutions such as the Guggenheim Museum and Sala Rekalde in Bilbao or the Huarte Center in Navarra. It is worth mentioning his artistic interventions in the Mercado de la Ribera in Bilbao and in the Trengandín beach in Noja. His work has been shown in international art fairs such as ARCO, Madrid, Material in Mexico DF or Cross Roads in London.

Ben Edmunds

Ben Edmunds (b.1994, Norwich, UK) lives and works in London. As an artist, his practice spans painting and sculpture, and he is the director of Aspirational Equipment Ltd., an artist’s objects company founded in 2019. He received a BA in Painting from Wimbledon College of Arts (2016), and an MA in Painting from Royal College of Art (2018) where he was awarded the Hine Prize for Painting.

His practice is deeply rooted in his background as a sailor and windsurfer, and his work focuses on the crossover between these adventure sports, luxury lifestyle pursuits and colour field painting. He is interested in the possibilities of abstraction as a transcendental experience, likening it to climbing a mountain or sailing in open water. He questions the assumed anti- utilitarianism of painting, proposing the artwork as a form of equipment.

He has participated in numerous group and solo exhibitions, including “Almost Somewhere”, Choi & Lager Gallery (Seoul, 2021); “It won’t last forever (or maybe it will)” at Tatjana Pieters Gallery (Gent, 2021); “Where should I go from here?”, Kaikai Kiki Gallery (Tokyo, 2019); and “Something unknown is doing we don’t know what”, County Street (London, 2020).

Geran Knol

Geran Knol is a multidisciplinary artist from the Netherlands, currently living and working in Antwerp, Belgium. His work consists of drawings, paintings, sound and sculptural work. He is also involved in Park Pardon, a collaboration with Bloeme van Bon. He received a BA in Illustration at ArtEZ Hogeschool voor de Kunsten in Zwolle (the Netherlands) in 2012 and a Master in Visual Arts at Sint Lucas in Antwerp (Belgium) in 2015.

His work is an ever evolving research on shape and form. In Knol’s image a recurrent figure becomes part of its surroundings and doesn’t take on a personification. He often works in series where he limits himself to certain rules of play. With those limitations he researches possible variations which then lead to new ideas. For Knol a drawing carries a similar importance to a painting, and he often refers to previous work when working with a new medium. Even though his practice generally takes a two-dimensional format, the haptic qualities of the materials are very relevant in the making of a final image.

His work has been exhibited in several solo and group exhibitions such as “Lucky Charms”, Ballroom Gallery (Brussels, 2022); “With A Silent Drum”, L21 (Palma de Mallorca, 2021); “Plaatjes & Praatjes”, Willem II Fabriek (Den Bosch, 2019); “AppointMENT”, MENT (Ljubljana, 2019); “Unclear Clarity”, ABC Klubhuis (Antwerp, 2017); “Double Bubble”, Inuit (Bologna, 2015); “Illustrative”, Direktorenhaus (Berlin, 2015); and “The Considered Cabinet of Deliberate Thoughts”, with Park Pardon (Antwerp, 2015). He has participated in the art fairs Art Antwerp (2022) and ARCOMadrid (2021).

Marc Badia

Marc Badia (1984) holds a degree in Fine Arts from the University of Barcelona, where he studied a master’s degree in Artistic Production and Research, and is an exchange student at the Hochschule für bildende Künste Hamburg (HFBK Hamburg). His work is mainly focused on the

hermeneutics of images in a pictorial and installative practice, using humour and mystery as tools of critique.

He has exhibited at Centro del Carmen de Valencia (Valencia), Espositivo Mad (Madrid), Galería Fran Reus (Mallorca), La Capella (Barcelona), Fundación Arranz Bravo (Barcelona) and at Arco Madrid with the L21 gallery (Mallorca). He has held residencies at the Free University of Tbilisi (Georgia), the DE Kaaij festival (Nijmegen, Holland) and Major 28 (Lleida).

Mira Makai

Mira Makai (b.1990, Budapest, Hungary) is an artist based in Budapest. Makai works across ceramic, acrylic painting, and oil pastel drawings. Moving away from the world of organic abstraction that previously characterized her works, she found a new home in a world of hybrid-like, magnified comic book miniatures intertwining of mythological and Pop culture influences.

Her works have been presented in several group exhibitions in museums and non-profit exhibition spaces like Hungarian National Museum, Küntslerhaus KM Graz, Collegium Hungaricum Berlin, Modern and Contemporary Arts Centre (MODEM) Debrecen. She also exhibited her creatures with art galleries in different cities of the European countries and art fairs, Art+Text Budapest, Susan Boutwell Gallery Münich, and Galerie Droste in Berlin, Viennacontemporary in Vienna. Her works can be seen in Esterhazy Private Collection and the Janus Pannonius Museum’s ceramic collection. An Esterhazy Art Award winner.

Pixy Liao

Pixy Liao is an artist born and raised in Shanghai, China who currently resides in Brooklyn, NY. She holds an MFA in Photography from the University of Memphis in 2008. Her work, although highly personal, is often witty and humorous. Liao uses her photographs, videos and installations to call into question stereotypical contemporary concepts such as the nature of “the couple,” “the artist,” and the “female experience.”

Liao is a recipient of the NYFA Fellowship in Photography, Santo Foundation Individual Artist Awards, Jimei x Arles International Photo Festival Madame Figaro Women Photographers Award, En Foco’s New Works Fellowship and LensCulture Exposure Awards. She has been awarded artist residencies at the University of Arts London, Pioneer Works, Light Work, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, Center for Photography at Woodstock, and Camera Club of New York.

Selected solo exhibitions include “Your Gaze Belongs to Me”, Fotografiska, Tallinn, Estonia (2022); “Experimental Relationship (for your eyes only, or maybe mine, too)” Vancouver International Centre for Contemporary Asian Art, Vancouver, Canada (2020); “Two Heads”, Stieglitz 19, Antwerp, Belgium (2020); «UNE RELATION EXPÉRIMENTALE», the Rencontres d’Arles, Arles, France (2019). She has participated in group exhibition that took place at PTT Gallery, Taipei, Taiwan; White Rabbit Gallery, Sydney, Australia; Fotomuseum Winterthur, Switzerland; SCOPE Hannover Biennial, Hannover, Germany amongst many others.

Her work can be found in the collections Alexander Tutsek – Stiftung, Franklin Furnace Archive, Møllersamlingen (Møller collection), Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Light Work, Syracuse, NY, The Center for Fine Art Photography, Fort Collins, CO.

Richard Woods

Richard Woods was born in Chester, England, in 1966 and graduated from the Slade School of Fine Art, London in 1990, where he trained as a sculptor. Woods is well known for his architectural installations and re-surfacing of structures that propose an absurd twist on the cult of home improvement and DIY aesthetics. His works are characterised by cartoon-like decorative surfaces, bold patterns and vibrant colours. Woods completed a major architectural commission in South Korea for the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, designed an interior for the Comme des Garçons’ flagship store in Osaka, orchestrated the mock Tudor overhaul of a private residence in New York and transformed the interior of Cary Grant’s former Hollywood residence for its new owner, Jeffrey Deitch. In 2003, his re-paving of a cloistered courtyard was the centrepiece of The Henry Moore Foundation’s exhibition at the 50th International Venice Biennale of Art.

Recent exhibitions and projects include Frieze Sculpture, London (2018, 2013); Chelsea Space, London (2017); Folkestone Triennial (2017); Eastside Projects, Birmingham (2016); Festival of Love, Southbank Centre, London (2015); Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff (2015); Albion Barn, Oxford (2015); Bloomberg Space, London (2012) and Victoria and Albert Museum, London (2009).

His works are held in major collections including the Saatchi Collection, London; Arts Council England, London;Victoria and Albert Museum; London; British Museum, London and the Museum of Modern Art, New York.

Hannah Epstein (Hanski)

Hannah Epstein (Hanski) (b.1985) is Canadian artist. She holds an MFA from Carnegie Mellon University (2017) and a B.A in Folklore & Religious Studies from Memorial University (2009).

Raised in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Epstein was nursed by a Zenith television and a Latvian grandmother. The sharp contrast between the saturated images on television and the tragic retelling of family trauma, launched a lifetime obsession with popular forms of entertainment as remedy and escape.

Using a folkloric lens Epstein is devoted to highlighting the cultural negotiation between bottom-up (folk-to-commodity) and top-down (institution-to-mashup) storytelling.

Having cultivated a visual vocabulary of cartoon and pop culture images that resonate with archetypal figures of the collective unconscious, she uses the traditional east coast craft of rug hooking, video, and video games to digest a self-induced barrage of media, creating oracular images.

Her work has been shown at The Hammer Museum, The Art Gallery of Ontario, The Textile Museum of Canada,The Long Beach Museum of Art,The San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles, The Museum of Contemporary Art Denver and The Rooms in St. John’s, Newfoundland.

About JPS Gallery

Established in Hong Kong in 2014 and later in Japan, Paris and Barcelona, JPS Gallery is an independent contemporary art gallery presenting works of emerging and established artists from around the world.

The gallery is founded with a passionate spirit that dedicates to the new digital age and the exploration of the world of fine art and pop culture. We aim to create an innovative environment for a new generation of artists and collectors, fostering a creative space for all. We focus on fun and playful works of the era that spans across different mediums and disciplines, showcasing a discerning selection of works that embody the aesthetics of today.

We are committed to supporting the culture and art scene in Asia and Europe, creating a vibrant local art community. The gallery regularly presents works of emerging artists in our gallery spaces in Tokyo and Hong Kong as well as international art fairs, giving them a platform to gain global exposure, supporting young artists to launch their careers. JPS has also been an active contributor to society and the local art scene by sponsoring various charity events and auctions.

JPS Gallery Paris

12 rue Notre-Dame-de-Nazareth, 75003 Paris, France