In Praise of Abstraction:
Painters from the Académie des Beaux-Arts in the Collections of the Fondation Gandur pour l’Art
From 12 October
to 26 November
Fondation Gandur pour l’Art
Pavillon Comtesse de Caen
27 Quai Conti, 75006 Paris
The exhibition showcases twenty-five paintings drawn from the abstract art collection of the Fondation Gandur pour l’Art. These artworks provide insight into the artistic careers of seven former members of the Academy of Fine Arts, all of whom played a pivotal role in the emergence of a new form of abstraction known as “informal art.”
These selected works, created between 1945 and 1965, defied the prevailing trend of geometric abstraction, offering a unique perspective on their era. Despite their stylistic differences, they share a fresh and far-from-academic approach to painting. This period was marked by extraordinary vitality, with two generations of French and international artists converging in Paris, which had once again become the epicenter of the international avant-garde art scene following the war.
The amalgamation of artworks by Jean Bertholle, Chu Teh-Chun, Olivier Debré, Hans Hartung, Georges Mathieu, Antoni Tàpies, and Zao Wou-Ki, selected by Bertrand Dumas, curator at the Fondation Gandur pour l’Art and the curator of this exhibition, epitomizes one of the most prolific periods in the history of 20th-century art.
Antoni TÀPIES
Porta vermella n° LXXV
1958
© Fondation Gandur pour l’Art, Genève.
Photograph: Sandra Pointet