Modern Aesthetics: Hervé Mikaeloff
Hervé Mikaeloff is an independent art consultant and curator, who currently advises and curates for the LVMH group, most particularly for Louis Vuitton. He graduated from l’Ecole du Louvre in Paris and then worked for two years at La Fondation Cartier for Contemporary Art as Assistant Director. In 2011, he was named Chevalier de Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Minister of Culture. His most recent work includes a range of exhibitions at the Espace Culturel Louis Vuitton, including Romanian Scenes, in 2013, for which he selected works from representative Romanian contemporary artists. This year, he will curate the central exhibition at Art Safari Bucharest.
Yves Klein – Untitled Anthropometry (1960)
The one artist whose work I would collect or already collect… Yves Klein
My favorite place in the world… Paris
The best souvenir for an art enthusiast… Olafur Eliasson @ Turbine Hall – Tate
Olafur Eliasson The Weather Project, 2003 Monofrequency lights, projection foil, haze machines, mirror foil, aluminium, and scaffolding
A recent artistic find… I really find the work of Arxanta Echevevarrian very up to date
The music that soothes you or keeps you inspired… Erik Satie
The book you would recommend to someone who wants to learn more about art… Against Interpretation by Susan Sontag
The best gift you could possibly offer… a trip to the desert!
If I had to choose another path in life, I would be… a choreographer
As curator of the Central Exhibition at Art Safari, would you give us an insight about what this particular display is all about?
My statement is to create Stages, where multidisciplinary artists are to evoke a back and forth between past, present and future.
Is there any subjective reason that made you accept Art Safari’s proposal?
I did several visits in Bucharest, in 2012 and 2013, for the show I curated at Espace Louis Vuitton in Paris, at the end of 2013. I found here some amazing artists, who have such a strong vision of all generations.
How much does the fact that the pavilion is in front of the Parliament House influence your vision? Are there any political remarks to be made?
Art is political, of course, but curators are here to represent the artistic messages and not to get tangled up in politics.
Can you give us a clue about the process you went through selecting the pieces included in the exhibition?
I did a lot of studio visits and I intend to show new works, which have not been seen in Bucharest before.
You have curated Romanian Scenes at the Espace Culturel Louis Vuitton in 2013. What aspects do you find the most striking when thinking about Romanian art?
Romanian art has always been very active and experimental, even in a period when it was impossible to show non-official art.
In your personal view, how do Romanian contemporary artists stand on the international art scene?
More and more Romanian artists are present on the international art scene. Of course, the buzz of Cluj brings a lot of people in Romania, but we have also recently rediscovered the work of some keys artists such as Geta Brătescu and Ion Grigorescu.
*Art Safari 2018 will take place in Bucharest, 11-20 May.
