The European Cultural Centre (ECC) is a cultural organization founded by artist Rene Rietmeyer, and which has recently opened a small cultural space in Montmartre, an iconic district of art and creativity.
In this space, the co-directors Elisabeth Mironenko and Nina Comini present artists from the ECC Art Collection.
For this inaugural exhibition, they chose to display works by renowned Japanese photographer Nobuyoshi Araki, from the series “Monstrous Paradise.”
The origins of the Monstrous Paradise project date back to 1999. Dutch artist René Rietmeyer met Araki at the opening of his exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Tokyo. Contacting Araki proved difficult. René Rietmeyer called him for the first time in November 2012, but despite a second attempt with the help of a Japanese translator, it was not possible to explain the project clearly to Araki. Following a second letter, Natsuko Odate, his manager, responded: “I spoke with Araki and he is very happy to participate in your project. ‘ In January 2018, there was excellent news: ’Araki has finally finished preparing the publication.‘ In April 2018, the European Cultural Centre received 200 images from the ’Monstrous Paradise” series, works by Nobuyoshi Araki. Each image shows a carefully arranged setting, his fantasies, a particular way of presenting stories so typical of Araki.
The exhibition is on view by appointment until October 21st at: 4, rue Piemontesi, 75018, Paris.
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