Exhibition / Museum
Acquisitions récentes du Cabinet d'Art Graphique
30 May - 3 Sep 2018
The event is over
A regular event, the exhibition of recent acquisitions by the Graphic Art department reveals new historical and contemporary works to the public. This edition features a selection of a hundred or so works on paper acquired by the Centre Pompidou since 2011. This varied and eclectic exhibition opens with Henri Matisse's large-scale stained-glass window project for the Chapelle de Vence and a large collage by the contemporary artist Pierre Buraglio, clearly inspired by Matisse's chasuble designs for the same chapel. Modern and contemporary drawings are given equal billing in a chronological circuit illustrating incredible diversity, with artists like Kandinsky, Klee, Picabia, Wols, de Staël and Giacometti.
When
11am - 9pm, every days except tuesdays
Where
Curator's point of view
Presentations of recent acquisitions by the Department of Prints and Drawings are an important, regular feature on the programme of the Musée National d'Art Moderne, and the current exhibition offers an opportunity to view a selection of some 150 modern and contemporary works on paper by more than 50 artists, acquired by the Centre Pompidou since 2011. As eclectic as it is diverse, the exhibition opens with Henri Matisse’s ample preparatory study for the stained glass at the Vence chapel and a large collage by contemporary artist Pierre Buraglio, very clearly inspired by Matisse’s own designs for chasubles for the same chapel.
The chronological layout accords equal weight to modern and contemporary drawing. Certain associations emerge, some more unexpected than others. Kandinsky naturally appears alongside Paul Klee, his friend and colleague from the Bauhaus, while Karel Appel keeps company with Asger Jorn and Egill Jacobsen, comrades from the early, heroic years of the Cobra movement. Further on, works on paper by John Cage can be seen alongside those of Jackson Mac Low, another artist close to Fluxus, while Danish painter Per Kirkeby has Eugène Leroy for a neighbour, both of them represented by the Michael Werner Gallery. One may note in passing that the works of Leroy, together with those of Picabia, Wols, de Staël and Giacometti, represent recent acceptances in lieu, for the most part exhibited for the first time. They underline the extraordinary diversity of the medium, from the simplest line on paper to the most subtle of sophistications.
The exhibition also offers an opportunity to give public thanks to the many donors whose generosity has enabled the growth of Museum’s collection of prints and drawings: artists (Mamma Andersson, Pierre Buraglio, Callum Innes, Per Kirkeby, Mirtha Dermisache) or their heirs (Harriet Appel, Barbara Duthuit, Claire Sarti, Annette Jacobsen, the Pierre Wemaëre estate, Eva Roche Ivackovic, Nicolas Ivackovic, Marion Gillet-Guigon, Christophe Gillet, Margit Rowell, Annette Maryan, Chantal Cusin-Berche, Philip Golub), the Friends of the Musée National d’Art Moderne, represented by their International Club (Huguette Caland, Mamma Anderson and Silvia Bächli) and their Contemporary Art Purchase Group (notably for Ciprian Muresan and Tomma Abts). Not to be forgotten are such generous private benefactors as Sarah Dars, Frieder Burda or Robert Matta, who have brought the Museum works by Paul Klee, Eugen Schönebeck or Margrét Blöndal, while the Lelong and Thaddaeus Ropac galleries have donated drawings by Juan Uslé and Ali Banisadr. The exhibition also affords an occasion to highlight the inestimable contributions of the Kandinsky Society and the New Carlsberg Foundation.
To exhibit such a wealth of work, of such diverse periods, styles and materials, is always a challenge, but a challenge that makes possible unique and unforgettable encounters.
Source :
in Code Couleur n°31, may-august 2018, pp. 46-47