*Scarpetta n°1*
oil on canvas
10.6 x 13.7 inches
2022
Raphaël-Bachir Osman.

“Fare la scarpetta", Italian for "making the little shoe", is a gesture made after eating a delicious dish. The bread dances on the surface of the plate, improvising its walk, picking up the best parts of the meal. It's a gesture of appreciation, but also a pictorial gesture. The reasoning behind that phrase is visual, during the practice of sweeping the bread, the finger becomes the leg that pushes the bread which becomes the shoe. Revealing one’s gustatory pleasure, it symbolizes conviviality, but it is also a way to extend the pleasure of the repast.

Historically, what comes the closest to a plate appears in the Middle Age in the Middle East, they are large vessels diners would gather around and all eat from. Plates arrive in Italy the 15th century, meeting a great success, they are displayed as decoration on the walls. The plate reaches the table of the Kings of Europe in the 16th century, containing different meats, it is still meant to be shared. It is not before the 17th century that the plate in individualized and used as we know it.

This gathering will articulate the idea of the Scarpetta motion, and bring it to the forefront, oscillating between the artistic act of painting and the gastronomic act of eating. It is an invitation to immerse oneself around the painter’s, the cook’s and the diner’s gesture.

Raphaël-Bachir Osman and Candice Chemel are exploring the transversality of their practices along a concerto of eclectic plates culminating in a grand feast. The artists will be sharing stories via different mediums. Raphaël-Bachir Osman will be exhibiting some oil on canvas paintings from his Scarpetta series, gravitating around the table as souvenirs of previous meals. Candice Chemel will be sharing table tales she has written, inspired by Raphaël’s paintings.

Through a playful performance, guests will be brought together around sauces created by the duo, playing on color, intimacy and togetherness. Bread, meant to be broken and shared, will be the tool for this gustatory and pictorial interaction, an invitation to savor.

Raphaël-Bachir Osman

At all costs, never lock yourself into a style. Always subordinate the painting to the subject. To make every detail an obsession. Finally, to avoid boredom. There are the watchwords that guide Raphaël-Bachir Osman’s pictural work. His series on the theme of delicacies honours pastries: éclair with velvety icing, generous chocolate biscotti on a gingham tablecloth, embossed mille-feuille toppings worked in series with a piping bag, etc. Since the subject indicates its technical treatments, the oil paint must be smeared on the canvas as one spreads chocolate on the toast. Through a claimed brazenness, his flat works absorb the codes of restoration and the iconography of the still life to better detach themselves from them. The artist strives to nestle finesse in excess. The extreme slowness of the work is put to the service of hyper-objectivity of the representation which laughs at the art world whose absurdities it insidiously reveals. (Text by Fanny Trussard, 2022)

Graduated from the HEAR (Haute Ecole des Arts du Rhin) in France with honours in 2017, Raphaël-Bachir Osman was co-director of Erratum galerie, in Berlin from 2017 to 2021. His work has been shown extensively throughout Europe, including exhibitions at the Kunstraum Riehen in Basel, Switzerland. In 2020, he was nominated for the Revelations Emerige Price (Paris) and he has been granted with the research and creation program Création En Cours - Ateliers Médicis.Recently, he was in residency at Le Port des Créateurs (Toulon, France), and has participated in the Biennale of Artpress magazine (monographic exhibition at Museum Fabre, and a group exhibition at M.O.C.O Montpellier, France). He was featured in L’Oeil magazine (#762) as one of the 50 artists making the new French art scene. Raphaël-Bachir Osman is represented in Paris by DS Galerie. He is currently in residency in New York at Residency Unlimited, Brooklyn. His residency is made possible with support from Atelier Mondial Basel (Christoph Merian Stiftung).

Instagram : @raphael_bachir_osman

Candice Chemel

Candice Chemel is a designer, gastronome and sommelière. She graduated from the Design Process department at HEAR (Haute Ecole des Arts du Rhin) in France, where she used food as her medium for experimentation, researching how we share our meals and the stories surrounding the dinner table. Passionate about food and travel, her interest for gastronomy motivated her to study at the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Pollenzo, Italy. She graduated with a Masters in Gastronomy, Creativity, Education and Ecology. Thirsty for more, Candice moved back to France to pursue an apprenticeship as a sommelier in Alsace, focusing on intuitive and geo-sensorial tasting. She enriches her work with the different cultural encounters she’s experienced throughout her travels and years living abroad in both Italy and Thailand. She has been published in The New Gastronome, sharing a haptic experience through a Thai dish, and puts her graphic skills to use, doing branding and design work for natural wine producers.

Instagram : @candicechml

Date
Saturday June 17th
6-7pm

Location
51 Bergen St.
Main Gallery

The Little Shoe with Raphaël-Bachir Osman and Candice Chemel