Mémorial de Caen, Caen (FR) 22 June 2023 - 31 December 2023
Années pop, années choc
1960-1975
The Fondation Gandur pour l’Art and the Mémorial de Caen announce “Années pop, années choc, 1960-1975”, their second exhibition crossing art and history, opening on June 22 at the Memorial. The show will delve into social, political, and cultural protest movements in France from 1960 to 1975. It will present the figurative paintings of artists like Eduardo Arroyo, Erró, Gérard Fromanger, Eulàlia Grau, Ivan Messac et Bernard Rancillac, who brought a critical reflection on their time, from the Vietnam war in the aftermath of May 68.
CURATORS: Yan Schubert AND Stéphane Grimaldi
Built around artworks of the Fondation Gandur pour l’Art and collections of the Mémorial de Caen, this exhibition looks at the representation of history’s onward march: that of the Vietnam war and the confrontation between blocs during the Cold War, of the late trials of Nazis in Germany, Franquism in power and the Chinese cultural revolution, but also the more social side of history, of May 1968, the struggles for equality among sexes and against racial segregation, that of urban transformation, mass consumption and tourism, all pivotal to Western history.
Besides objects drawn from the Mémorial de Caen’s collection, the exhibition gathers 69 artworks from 26 French and European artists related to Narrative Figuration, a movement which developed in France concurrently to Pop Art in the English-speaking world. These artists used similar references from the movie industry, cartoons or advertising, while being more committed in opposition to the political, economic, and social hegemony of the United States. Whether they condemn American Imperialism, the period’s dictators – in Spain, Portugal, Argentina, and Chile notably – or deplore rising nuclear threats in a moment where opposing blocs faced each other, these artists bring a critical eye to their time and the world around them. But they also support social and political movements in Europe in the aftermath of May 1968.
The exhibition unfolds in 10 thematic sections over two floors, which allows visitors to comprehend the upheavals that underlie this fifteen year-period.
An exhibition catalogue will be published, featuring all objects on show.
Artworks in focus
March 2023 Fine Arts
Ivan Messac
Black Panther, Tigre de papier
As the Fondation Gandur pour l’Art prepares its next exhibition entitled Années pop, années choc, 1960-1975 with the Mémorial de Caen, it is of interest to look at the work of artist Ivan Messac and more specifically at his political paintings from the late 1960s that will be shown there. One in particular, which recently was made part of the Foundation, clearly attests to the artist's commitment to reveal the political and societal issues that agitated France in the 1960s.
November 2022 Fine Arts
Il s'en fout – Le contre-procès de Lens
Created in 1971, Il s'en fout – Le contre-procès de Lens is one of Gérard Schlosser's few engaged works[[The artist, who passed this summer, donated the work to the Foundation in December 2020.]]. It recalls one of the tragic accidents in French mines that plunged the country into mourning at the time. Not showing the tragedy itself, the artist takes as his subject the funerals held in homage to the deceased miners. On his diptych, he contrasts, on one panel, the pain of the families who lost a loved one, on the other, the boredom of a politician or of the boss of the company who manages the mine, present to support them symbolically.
June 2019 Fine Arts
Le Voyou by Gérard Fromanger
An exhibition entitled Histoire de l’art cherche personnages… will open on June 19, 2019 at the CAPC musée d’art contemporain in Bordeaux, organized jointly by the Bordeaux institution, the Cité internationale de la bande dessinée et de l’image in Angoulême, and the Fondation Gandur pour l’Art. It provides an opportunity to focus on the work of Gérard Fromanger, in particular Le Voyou.
October 2018 Fine Arts
Drink by Peter Stämpfli
At a time when two historical works (Glacière, 1963 and Escalier de service, 1964) by Peter Stämpfli have just joined the Fondation Gandur pour l’Art, it is a good opportunity to present Drink (1964) and to evoke the methodical and radical approach of the probably most pop Swiss artist. Before painting cars and especially tires, Stämpfli became interested in the early 1960s in the objects and gestures of everyday life that he presented on white backgrounds characteristic of his work during this period.
March 2018 Fine Arts
Cuatrodedos by Eduardo Arroyo
Invited to speak in Geneva at the Museum of Art and History in the context of the Festival Histoire et Cité on 23rd March at 4 pm, Eduardo Arroyo will recount the journey of his emancipation and his voluntary exile. Organised in partnership with the Fondation Gandur pour l’Art, this encounter will retrace his critical stance to Francoist Spain, admirably demonstrated in his 1963 work Cuatrodedos.
November 2017 Fine Arts
The Cigarette by Peter Stämpfli
The Cigarette by Peter Stämpfli is featured in the catalogue of the collection of the Fondation Gandur pour l’Art, directed by Jean-Paul Ameline and entitled Narrative Figuration (Milan, 5 Continents Editions, 2017), which is in the process of being printed and will be in bookstores late November. This piece, a true celebration of daily life and masterly in its simplicity, reminds us of the interest shown in the 1960s in the everyday by one of the most eminent Swiss artists of this movement.
Agenda
conference
« L’art des années 60, entre combats politiques et luttes sociales » by Yan Schubert
Yan Schubert, curator of the exhibition Années pop, années choc, 1960-1975 and curator of fine art, will present the narrative figuration movement that emerged in the 1960s in the United States and Europe.
Publication
Revue de presse
Le Journal des Arts — 20.09.2023
« 1960-1975, une Figuration narrative engagée »
Le Monde — 07.09.2023
« À Caen, la figuration narrative s'ancre dans le réel »
Le Figaro — 25.08.2023
« À Caen, face-à-face entre les années pop et l'Histoire »
The Art Newspaper France — 26.07.2023
« À Caen, l’histoire au propre comme au figuré »
L'Éléphant — 28.06.2023
« « Années pop, années choc » au Mémorial de Caen »
Works on loan
Je passe, vous repasserez
1968
