RABBIT RUN

06/12/11 10:50
(http://www.klassa.bg/)

by Petar PLAMENOV

10 June (Friday) - 18 June (Saturday)
mr clement

The Museum Gallery of Modern Art
Sofia Design Week 2011
Address:
Sofia, 10 Oborishte Str.
Working time: 11:00-19:00
Phone: 02 943 40 00
Phone: 02 946 30 00

Mr Clement's Petit Lapin figurine is finally available in Sofia, part of a long world tour in 2011. Love their cozy yellow and orange scarves, but what's the story behind the letter and the knife?Sculptures, paintings, photographs and some unpublished drawings from mr clement's latest graphic novel will be on display at the event, along with 15 special edition Lapin figures called 'Petit lapin in Sofia' and lots of prints, mugs, badges and more in the exhibition space The Museum Gallery of Modern Art Sofia only to June 18.

"This is the story of the long, long journey of petit lapin and me \mr clement\. We forget when the trip started but we have travelled to many cities, Paris, London, Stockholm, Kyoto, Prague.... we saw the biggest ice mountain in the world, we tasted the most lovely red wine and baguette, we slept with beautiful and talented people, we got lost in the middle of those cities, we bid farewell to all of the our closest friends.... this is a lonely and lovely trip and this is the lapin world tour"... says mr clement.

mr clement makes tea, love and art. He is from Hong Kong, but lives and works in London now. His studio is called Lapin Factory Ltd. Of course, “mr clement” is an artistic pseudonym. Behind it is an illustrator and sculptor, whose inspirations come from comics, popular culture, porn and classical music. This results in friendly artwork in the form of graphic novel, animation and sculpture.

All in all, mr clement works to soften the traditionally highbrow fine art by mixing it with popular sub-culture from the West and the East. Simplicity and fun are key aspects for him – he finds them very necessary if people are to have a direct and pure experience of artwork and to be able to relate to it. “Simplicity also allows artists to break down cultural boundaries,” he says.

The exhibition revolves around Lapin, his hand-made rabbit-like character, known by now in Europe and the United States. Thanks to Lapin’s popularity, world tour exhibitions were held in various cities – ‘Lapin World Tour #1′ in Hong Kong, ‘Lapin World Tour #2′ in Paris and ‘Lapin World Tour #3′ in London. mr clement is constantly exploring new platforms to present his artwork and experiments with the concept of drawing and sculpture in different contexts. Most recently, he has started to make videos and animations.