SHARING WITH ME

  The Michael Werner collection or the little I had seen of it, pushed me to go further in my thinking since having read the introduction for "Art at War". I knew that Claude Rocca would more than complete the thoughts buzzing around in my head. (I might add that this buzzing went on all night and my dreams were colourful and dramatic). So there had been 900 works in the first exhibition of which I had probably digested 80 and now......400 works by over 100 artists all backed up by film and documentary material. Of its kind, I would think that this is the most important retrospective - ever - on this period.  It has never been done before bringing together all the artists who creatively forged resolutely ahead inside interment camps, prisons.....or if they had been fortunate enough to escape such horrendous punishment, many were condemned to the new realties of the «dark days» during the occupation and the Vichy regime. Some, and Picasso as we know, went on working either i...

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...

I enjoy conferences with Claude Rocca and «Les Chemins de l’Art» but don’t go too often as the periods or exhibitions  he presents are not always of interest to me. But we are about to have two conferences which I  booked quite a while ago. One on the Art during the second world war period and the other on Edward Hopper. This is the first major exhibition and retrospective which is travelling around Europe. Laurent and Jerome had already seen it in Madrid - I had to be patient and to see it in Paris. couple buvant 1906-07 Claude gave us an hour’s presentation with slides. We were then given «quartier libre» to visit the exhibition which is on three floors and covering his life’s work. Some 128 paintings in all from water-colours to illustrations during the period where he worked before becoming famous,  engravings and paintings. In the latter period there are so many of his paintings which are known and used for advertisement of some kind or another that I was p...

Two hours door to door and I arrived  in Roubaix at «La Piscine». I was there earlier this year to see the Duncan-Picasso («Oh What a Pleasure» - 26th April) . As for the previous visit, I arrived at midday finding a virtually empty museum - a lot of people eating in the café and a few visitors in the exhibition. This time we were allowed to take photographs which I did in a second tour around. I left three hours later. You could not move for people. Many years ago an art teacher  insisted that Chagall was only interesting in his Russian period and when he came to France, his painting became purely commercial. He lived in France between 1923 and 1939 and then again from 1948 to the end of his life, 1985.  As this is the first big retrospective of his work which I have seen in some years, I was interested to see if I could prove him wrong. I think I did. Garnier Opera   Obviously if you are referring to his illustrations for the Bible which make the Bible ve...