Fondation Marguerite et Aimé Maeght to feature Jacques Monory's "Tigers" |
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| Written by rubin |
| Saturday, 21 March 2009 14:20 |
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Monory has constructed a unique scenario in which his paintings are bounded by the exhibition space. This space thus becomes a sort of cage, shared between the “subjects” –humans, animals, objects and accessories-, and the visitors who, oddly enough, are at the centre of the “arena”. In fact, Jacques Monory likes to stage his work in this way to accentuate their effect on the senses. His choice of panoramic format for this new series of paintings confirms the constant influence of cinematographic language in his work. The oils on canvas presented here have been worked almost like collages and composed in a way which makes the scenes even more striking. The visitor is immersed in the “unreal reality” of the world of Jacques Monory who depicts scenes where violence is ever present. Monory both parodies the “film noir”, a metaphor of existence and a summoning of death – while filtering it through the self protection of his “blue screen” to keep all forms of cruelty at bay. This new series of paintings produced in 2008 on the theme of the Tiger gives us a flashback to the Tigers series produced by Monory during the 1970’s, Dreamtiger n°4 , a canvas from this first series dated 1972, belongs to the Foundation’s collection. It greets the visitor in the entrance hall like an invitation to penetrate the artist’s universe. In the halls where part of the Foundation’s permanent collection is displayed, the visitor can also see a selection of Monory’s experimental films.  Jacques Monory’s work has earned its place in the history of art since appearing as part of the “Narrative Figuration” movement. These works continue to haunt us today: their impressive images contain all the force of an open ended story; they have become essential icons of contemporary culture. In 2008, an exhibition in the National Galleries of the Grand Palais in Paris celebrated « Narrative Figuration». This movement of the 1960’s introduced new ways of putting images together, giving new possibilities to figurative painting and leaving aside various types of abstract, geometric, kinetic or informal painting as well as the expression of the New Realists. Jacques Monory’s art is the work of a true master. His creations are steeped in the artist’s sensitive experience of the world rendered through his own questionings. His work is a series of constant iterations ever returning to omnipresent themes: the subjective exploration of reality, the construction of images, the passage of time and the eruption of violence and death. His style is characterized by the use of images springing directly from contemporary civilization. He borrows from the cinema and television and uses monochrome and primary colours with strong compositions. One by one, Monory peels off the images of our world and our imagination: in his universe, every day events and fantasies stand side by side, their juxtaposition feeding our inextinguishable fascination for the image. This museum is the sublime product of a thoughtful collaboration of architect, artists, and a private foundation, an unheralded jewel that is overlooked by the vast majority of the visitors rushing to "do the Riviera."....by..Craig Lancto Visit Fondation Maeght 06570 Saint-Paul, France at : http://www.fondation-maeght.com/ Click on logo below to add this article to your favorite Social Website ~ |
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