It was going to be a big day but until I came home, I didn’t realize just how big nor important it was. A visit was programmed visit with Claude Rocca (Edward Hopper last week) mid afternoon at the MAM. For the first and of prime importance, exhibition called ART at WAR, France 1938-1947.
From what I had read and the book I had been given on this period, it could only be «rich».....
The other exhibition is The Michael Werner Collection. I had read the description a little too quickly and was expecting to see the 127 pictures and sculptures he has recently donated to the museum which comprises the work of some 40 artists. I was not expecting 900 works presented in 20 rooms. Even when I started strolling through the first rooms and not studying the leaflet which we are given, I was not ready for the culture shock.
The reference point for the exhibition is in Paris, a city (and how I understand this), which was and is adopted by so many foreign artists. At one time they were associated with the School of Paris. Now I just see new names when wandering through exhibitions and how many young artists with foreign names seem to be living here.
In actual fact, Werner started his collection quite late. He’s in his 70’s today. His interest was triggered off by two French artists: Jean Fautrier and Francis Gruber.
Both artists I had «met for the first time» at the MAM. Francis Gruber made me smile when I discovered this picture in the late 90’S but could be later too and then there was an exhibition of Giacometti and Jean Fautrier at the MAM in 2002. I had gone for Giacometti and discovered Jean Fautrier. The latter intrigued me because of his use of different textures and elements on canvass. Gruber looks at times like Otto Dix and then I look again and I see Francis Gruber.
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| Francis Gruber 1937 "Les malheurs de l'amour" |
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| Grande Porte de bois Peint 1957 |
Gaston Chaissiac whose humour still goes on amazing me:
I began to wander. If I stayed longer in one room is because there was an artist I like so until I started looking at my watch and thinking it was time to join Claude, I was not concerned.
A.R.Penk who sometimes looks more like an aboriginal artist and also a MAM discovery. And then there are surprises too and I said "It can't be......"
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| Penck - The Man the Lion - water hole189 |
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| Penk - Jutta 1977 |
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| Francis Picabia - Edulis 1933 |
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| Picabia - Le Printemps 1942-43 |
Francis Picabia - a palette which bewilds me at times
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| Lucio Fontana 1957 |
Lucio Fontana who I relate to slits in paper and then I discovered this - and I like the energy and the strength in its colours: there were so many of Fontana which were not "paper cuts" and I liked them.
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| Fautrier Le lapin pendu (no date found) |
Jean Fautrier and a rather macarbe subject with his hung rabbit and then another with the textures I mentioned
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| Fautrier - Terre d'Espagne 1956 |
Beuys I could give a miss and others like Jacques Villeglé but I now covered the exhibition space or the last 10 rooms trotting too fast to see anything and knowing of course for many other artists I like so much or didn't know at all, another visit is a must.
As I was waiting for our visit to begin with Claude and reading the introduction to ART at WAR, I knew that many of the artists were from that period. Some I had just seen too. I would now be putting them all into another context.
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