I Could Do That - Art, Is It That Amazing?

Oppenheimer once said to me that he and his father walked through the Tate Modern and judged art by whether they could paint it or not. 'I could do that' they would say on one piece, then turning the corner the other would say 'I couldn't do that'. For them it was Groucho Marx slapstick comedy. For years this anecdote amused me and often I would say the same thing to anyone I happened to be strolling through a gallery with, but they never got the joke. However, there was one eye opener for me a couple of years ago, and that was when by friend Beatrice invited me to the opening of her Galerie BSL. Inside she had a whole bunch of stuff that not only could I not do, but I also had to ask myself how the hell they had done it. At the time she was showcasing some limited editions she had commissioned from an artist called Nacho Carbonell, a Valencian designer who tried to create objects and items for the home or communal space that looked as though they were in fact deep sea living organisms. At the moment she is showcasing an artist called Chales Kalpakian whose cabinets are themselves art and provide a huge amount of visual stimulation as you walk into the room. I will post some images below. However, if ever you are in Paris, just off the Rue Bretagne, opposite Cafe Charlot, sits Galerie BSL on Rue Charlot - where you can see it for yourself - it's a short walk, maybe twenty metres, but it's gonna stop you from saying 'I can do that' all the time.

Charles Kalpakian cabinetry currently on show at Galerie BSL -   23 rue Charlot
75003 Paris

Valencian designer Nacho Carbonell - famous for creating modern pieces which take on natural organic forms. The example above is a light which reflects light in the most unusual manner through the crust of rocks on the inside of this tube. It is said to recreate waves of light, light which plays like light within the leaves of a tree. 

The 0-9 ring - part of the limited editions on display at Galerie Bsl