The Artist and the Cigar Box: Civil Pleasures

Can you tell me more about your backgrounds? Where are you from?

Claire Koron Elat: We both have a background in the arts. We worked in galleries and museums. We met in Berlin through our work. Then we started our first project together.

Why did you start Angels?

CKE: We were interested not only in art, or in presenting art in a classical [manner], but in how to bring fashion into art exhibitions in a less obvious way.

From the beginning, we've worked not only with artists embedded in the traditional art system, but also with producers, directors, creative directors and designers. We like juxtaposing them with more traditional artists. We felt like this was something no one really did.

Shelly Lea Reich: The art world is very traditional. Galleries have a very specific structure, [a structure] which we wanted to break. We had our own space and exhibition programme through 032C, which gave us experience of working within a permanent gallery. But it's something we're not necessarily interested in doing anymore.

Why not?

CKE: The traditional gallery space, where you have a permanent location, is very restrictive. I don't think it's a sustainable model.

SLR: Working in a nomadic way is much more interesting. Every project can be tailored to the space. In Paris, for example, we create something specific to the city and work with local artists.

In 2024, you exhibited Productive Narcissism at 032c. SELF engages with that same theory: through Boris Groys’ notion that self-design via online persona and public image has become a productive, mass practice. Why continue the discourse with another exhibition?

CKE: It is such a pressing topic. People are being replaced by AI, and it is putting them in a state of crisis about their contribution. Our shows are also never really finished when they end; it is a continuous discourse. There is so much to say.

What was your curatorial approach like for SELF?

SLR: We both bring names to the table and have a very similar visual language. The topic is huge: how you design yourself, what an image is, how people construct a language around how they want to be perceived.

For the less conventional choices, we look at creators we're interested in and see if we can develop a relationship where they trust us and show their work in a different context. F1LTHY, for example, had never exhibited in an art show. He created the sound specifically for the exhibition. You might not necessarily connect it to his usual work, because he's produced for artists like Playboi Carti.

And how did you brief him?

CKE: We basically sent him the press release, and that's what he came up with. It's very abstract, but I think everyone's individual connection to the self is different.

The film we're showing, A Place We Call Reality, is from 2018. Kristoffer Borgli plays himself. He had just moved to LA and went into an existential crisis, trying meditation, drugs, even Scientology. It's a kind of mockery of the vlog format that YouTubers were using at the time. 

SLR: It resonates with the exhibition because of this idea of feeling useless. When you reach a certain level of success, you can lose a sense of meaning.

I noticed that the work in the exhibition has a ghoulish quality. What’s behind this choice?

CKE: Anything too beautiful or overtly perfect isn't interesting to me. I like the visual language of something ghoulish, of shocking people. The artists deal with seemingly superficial things, but there's a lot of horror and depth to them.

The Kim Kardashian work, by Noemie Ninot, is representative of this idea that we've turned the self into a public work of art. Her beauty is superficially constructed and outlives her physical self. It raises questions about immortality and ageing. Death is imminent, but ageing is a slow process that you observe. I’m publishing a feature at the moment about whether or not, as humans, we are more afraid of actual death or the process of ageing. I believe people are trying to keep agency through longevity.

You've chosen to show during Fashion Week. How does the exhibition relate to fashion?

CKE: Fashion brands have entire departments dedicated to using influencers and their personal brands to elevate their own. It's a whole ecosystem. So many fashion brands today don't have much identity anymore, so they need influencers and celebrities to construct one. But then you see all the same people at the same shows. The system reproduces itself.

Do you have a personal relationship to constructing your own identity?

SLR: Of course. Every person who chooses what to wear, who to spend time with, what exhibition to see, where to work, and where to live is constructing themselves. It would be a lie to say otherwise. We're constantly dealing with how we're perceived.

I also wanted to talk about the exhibition text. It's literary and reads like an internal monologue. Why did you choose that approach?

CKE: Our exhibition text is about finding the most authentic way of talking about the topic without imposing something onto the viewer. We don't want it to be overly educational, explaining every artwork and saying, “This is the meaning.” 

SLR: You hear the sound, you see the film, and you tie it together for yourself. We don't want to impose anything on anyone.