SYLVIE FLEURY, portrait of a gallerist [wearing bow tie by John M Armleder], 1991

SYLVIE FLEURY, portrait of a gallerist (wearing bow tie by John M Armleder), 1991
2 unique black and white analogue photo prints
each 15,6 x 10,5 cm / 10,5 x 15,6 cm
signed note, envelope, date-stamped 6-11-1991, 4 parts
inv.SF 377-pr

These photos were taken during the instalment of John Armleder’s second solo exhibition at Galerie van Gelder in 1991, for which he made a.o. three large Pour paintings. He dipped two bow ties into a puddle of paint that was leaking from the paintings leaning against the wall. Sylvie immortalised that action by taking a picture of the gallerist wearing one of the ties.
Vaguely, I remember that Sylvie Fleury wanted to capture my more than average height by photographing from a frog’s point of view. i am not sure, I should ask her about this, I guess. KvG

Note
The letterhead on the notepad sheet reads: “Those SHOES! I must have Those SHOES!” – Confessions of a Crazed Shopper.

SYLVIE FLEURY, press release Galerie van Gelder, Amsterdam, 1992 [printed matter]

SYLVIE FLEURY, press release Galerie van Gelder, Amsterdam, 1992
29,7 x 21 cm
ink jet print
inv.SF 000

During the time this press release came out her work was not yet contextualised and interpreted by critics as feministic. Quite a few visitors coming to her exhibition in the gallery commented: ‘Kees, this is not art, this is fashion!’

Sylvie Fleury says: ‘I’ve always been very interested in the mechanisms of desire — how objects elicit desire, and how brands create that sense of longing. These were things that felt really new when I started working in the 90s, when consumerism was really accelerating.’
Interview in iD by Mahoro Seward, 16 June, 2022

“Sylvie Fleury is extremely fascinated by fashion and everything that has to do with it. She is interested in actual fashion as well in fashion from e.g., the sixties. A lot of her work is used by her as complete or partial ‘ready-made’, but the cooler / rational pragmatism of e.g., American artists is not to be found in her work. She does not claim a priori a critical attitude such as artists like Jeff Koons, Haim Steinbach and others do. Her work derives in the first place from an inner necessity to create an image that is essential to her and is full of actual elements of which meaning is more than unequivocal.
It is remarkable to see in this exhibition how the images of the world of existing things turn into autonomous artworks in spite of the strong recognizability of these existing things. For instance, the colourful fake fur on stretcher has a high degree of inviting to caress and therefore these artworks evoke a beautiful sensual gesture to the exhibition as a whole. The shoes on the floor emphasize once more this physical element of an exact fitting shoe that creates a feeling of well-being. In contrast to this element, one is confronted with her new GALERIE VAN GELDER EDITION set out all over the gallery, but at the same time these photographs are reproductions of fashion magazines she regularly reads with eagerness. Often this peculiar commitment can be traced in her works.”

Press release with the exhibition of Sylvie Fleury April 25 – June 3 1992

GALERIE VAN GELDER Bericht 1, 1992 [news letter]

GALERIE VAN GELDER Bericht 1, 1992
29,7 x 21 cm
photo copy, vintage
edition ca 35
published by Galerie van Gelder, Amsterdam
inv.GvG 000

This is the first newsletter of Galerie van Gelder issued in the beginning of June 1992. It announces the gallery’s participation of Art Basel ’92, being a co-operation of five galleries. This was initiated by John M Armleder who also coined the name “Associated Publishers”. For that he designed a logo “AP” that was supposed to promote a co-operation of publishers in Geneva, Cologne, Amsterdam and New York. An edition “AP” was made by galerie van Gelder Editions on an enamel door plate. The image depicts the letters AP inside a tumbled zero.

SYLVIE FLEURY, Vital perfection, 1991 [catalogue, mint condition]

SYLVIE FLEURY, Vital perfection, 1991
15,5 x 13 cm
SC, stapled, 12 pp., including inlay
mint
published by Galerie Philomene Magers, Bonn, Germany
extremely rare in this condition
€ 420,- plus € 12,- Track & Trace registered mail
inv.SF 525-pr

This is the first catalogue of works by Sylvie Fleury. Shopping bag installation “It’s Clinique Bonus Time’ (1991) has been installed by her for a second time at Galerie van Gelder in Amsterdam in 1992. She added some bags to it, including the shoppings from where she got the paper bags from in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, USA.

For some reason it is rarely mentioned that Fleury’s paper bag installations contain original shoppings of Sylvie Fleury. At the time she installed the piece she doubted to take her shoppings with her back home, since all these cloths were personal belongings that fitted her.

Apparently the list of exhibition venues in the biography was added to this publication after it was printed in 1991, since it states shows done in 1992. Or the publisher anticipated on the scheduled solo exhibition at Galerie van Gelder in Amsterdam and a group exhibition at Galerie Gilbert Brownestone in Paris.

SYLVIE FLEURY, Formule One Dress, 1999 [post card]

SYLVIE FLEURY, Formule One Dress, 1999
10,8 x 15,3 xcm
post card, offset
published by Hugo Boss, Metzingen, Germany
mint
€ 25,- plus € 8,- Track & Trace registered EU mail
inv.SF 466-pr

On behalf of edition One Formula Dress this post card was issued showing Sylvie Fleury with Formula One car driver Mika Häkkinen who became World Champion in 1998.

SYLVIE FLEURY, Frisbee, 2022 [bikini]

SYLVIE FLEURY, Frisbee, 2022
bikini, size L, 8 tags, including Vilebrequin pouch
signed in print, both on linen labels and tags
produced by JPR Editions / Vilebrequin, Geneva, Switzerland
Sylvie Fleury Women Bikini Bottom Hot Rod 360° – Vilebrequin x Sylvie Fleury
and
Sylvie Fleury Women Bikini Top Hot Rod 360° – Vilebrequin x Sylvie Fleury
inv.SF 000-pr

On one of the tags can be read: ‘Sylvie Fleury explores the crossovers between art, fashion, tuning, and the New Age aesthetic. She plays with the codes of these cultural fields as forms of self-customization’.

Photos: K. van Gelder, Amsterdam

SYLVIE FLEURY, untitled, ca 2004 [print, Contemporary edition]

SYLVIE FLEURY, untitled, ca 2004
19,8 x 21 cm
print
edition 4500
hand stamped signature, numbered in pencil
mint
rare
published by Contemporary, London, UK
inv.SF 000-pr

Contemporary was a monthly art magazine based in London, founded and edited by Keith Spencer as a quarterly publication. It re-emerged twice, the first time as Contemporary Art in 1993 and the second time again as Contemporary in 2002, but this time not limited anymore to visual arts. Once subscribed to the magazine each issue came with a print, with ink stamped signature and sometimes hand signed on sticker or just authorised with a text of origin.

SYLVIE FLEURY, Vital perfection, 1991 [catalogue]


SYLVIE FLEURY, Vital perfection, 1991
15,5 x 13 cm
SC, stapled, 12 pp., inlay with text
published by Galerie Philomene Magers, Bonn, Germany
extremely rare
condition: very good, slightly daylight bleached alongside spine at the front of cover
€ 295,- plus € 12,- Track & Trace registered EU mail
inv.SF 358-140-pr

This is the first catalogue of works by Sylvie Fleury. Shopping bag installation “It’s Clinique Bonus Time’ (1991) has been installed by her for a second time at Galerie van Gelder in Amsterdam in 1992. She added paper shopping bags from Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, USA, including her shoppings.

 

Added information:
For some reason it is seldom mentioned that the paper bag installations contain original shoppings of Sylvie Fleury. At the time she installed the piece she doubted to take her shoppings with her back home, since all these cloths were personal belongings that fitted her.

Below a list of the shoppings done in LA.