Anne Pigalle art show

ANNE PIGALLE

‘THE SOHO CONNECTION’

May 29th / June 11th 2024

A review of the artistic output of Anne Pigalle ‘The Queen of Soho’ 

Farsight Gallery, 4 Flitcroft Street, London WC2 8DJ

Anne Pigalle, UK’s premiere Parisienne, brings her encompassing souk of bordello line paintings , film, performance and painted clothes to the historical musical border of Soho, the legendary Denmark St and its now recently opened Farsight gallery.

The show will remind us that Soho was always the place to be to seek art, music, fun and freedom, ever since 40000 French Huguenots fled for their lives from France to the UK and settled between Spitalfields and Soho bringing along with them the indelible sense of Bohemia among with many other things , and reminiscent of the district Pigalle in Paris , famous for the birth of Cabaret, and everything that makes life worth living, so please let it continue at least here for a little while..

Miss Pigalle was already renowned as a singer, having worked with the likes of Michael Nyman and Trevor horn in the UK , Leonard Cohen band and John Lee hooker musicians in America.  She also operated as a night organiser ( the famous Wednesday nights at the Café de Paris and nearly every venue in Soho since );

she reopened the music nights at Madame Jojo’s, bridging the gap and creating an innovating mix of cabaret and transgender style way back then, which inspired a well known photographer to give her the title of Queen of Soho.

It is worth mentioning that her working relationship with Donald Cammell ( Performance ) was also a great catalyst for embarking on the film project “The Soho Connection” from which we can see its trailer part I here at the gallery with a myriad of Soho characters, a prospect that could eventually turn into a 4 hours film, with already more than 50 interviews accomplished since….

Her mysterious punk past as the guitarist of a Punk band in Paris has yet to be exposed, as she witnessed both French and English chapters of the first Punk wave first hand.

With a father who played hot club jazz with the gypsies and Sydney Bechet in Paris, and a grandmother who was friends with Jean Cocteau, Anne’s upbringing in Montmartre soon led her to visit Soho.

From 2000, Pigalle has not stopped polishing and offering a highly diversified output of visual art that quickly became influential, always pushing the boundaries. The better informed have noticed the ripples…

From her erotic self portraits Polaroids exhibited at the prestigious Michael Hoppen gallery to the more naive paint work reminiscent of Matisse , Toulouse Lautrec, Degas, Basquiat and Picasso that she exhibited along with Jaimie Reid and Jimmy Cauty at the Aquarium Gallery, Pigalle is now a force to be reckoned with.

Her later recordings Madame Sex, Ecstase and The Deal are the 3 very eclectic soundtracks to the visual work on show. Some will be performed on the evening of the 29th.

The complete story of her life and art cannot be fully imitated or exposed here, but  for now, please come, share and enjoy yourselves with us.

The event will culminate with a separate concert at The St Moritz, one of Soho’s oldest establishment (reputed for hosting Lemmy’s shenanigans ), on June 26th , The St Moritz is at 159 Wardour St London W1F8WJ

Anne Pigalle interviewed by Chris Salewicz Thursday June 6th 7pm

RSVP contact@farsightcollective.com

Anne Pigalle art show

Anne Pigalle art show