“My close friend and gallery owner Barbara Polla was a great help…  I have to say this project was a very personal one.” – Kris Van Assche, December 2009.

The creation of A#7 was a very personal journey for Kris Van Assche, a project he shared with close friends and like-minded artists and creatives. Today we present the third in a series of contributions to A BLOG written by Barbara Polla, a gallerist and author who travels alongside Kris in discovering new and beautiful ways of seeing art and the wider world. Our thanks again to Barbara for her willing and harmonious contributions to our story.

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Kris Van Assche has a hummingbird drawn on his arm. Once we were visiting together Jeremy Deller’s show at the Palais de Tokyo (http://www.palaisdetokyo.com/deller/index.html<http://www.palaisdetokyo.com/deller/index.html>  ) and talking… and Kris inspired by what we were looking at explained me that art requires freedom – without freedom you can’t see art – it’s like the hummingbird, the bird has to be free to nurture himself in the heart of flowers, told Kris pointing to his tatoo. It is this very moment, this association of thoughts and images that gave birth toPicaflor (hummingbird in the language spoken in Buenos Aires, one of Kris Van Assche’s city of the world.) Picaflor ? The word itself sounds like a thorn, like a difficulty. The difficulty to getting closer and closer to beauty in our everyday life, a difficulty that requires constant efforts, attention, and humility. We must dare to choose freedom: the hard way but the only one to nurture our soul.

The bird is also a symbol of freedom, freedom of the soul liberating itself from the body, a symbol for transfiguration for the Egyptians, or, according to Freud, an analogy for erection – unless being caged. From childhood with caged birds (as drawn by the Andrea Mastrovito, in the context of a long lasting artistic friendship) to the hummingbird on Kris’ arm, free to fly away any time, a continuous search for freedom and meaning.

After Hyères, last spring, this winter, starting January 26, 2010, you will find, in the the Galeries des Galeries, the gorgeous showroom of the Galeries Lafayette in Paris, as in a wild urban meadow, a dozen flowers, perched on stalks like orchestra tripods, like waders – geometrical flowers, warrior flowers, robot flowers, made out of mirrors in which you can see the reflection of the outside world. And in the heart of the corolla of these mysterious flowers, you will discover the virtual and sensorial images, sounds and smells that nurture Kris Van Assche’s inspirations.

Kris Van Assche’s ability to constantly renew his inspirations and creations translates into the presentation of a “second type” Picaflor : same essence, new inspirations, novel images, ongoing creation…

To see Barbara’s gallery please click here.