Produced at the turn of the 1960s, Martial Raysse's Arbre echoes the society of plenty specific to the period. The assembly of everyday objects brings the artist closer to the New Realists such as Arman, Daniel Spoerri and Gérard Deschamps, some of whose works are in our collection.

Martial RAYSSE
Arbre
1959-1960
Assembly of bottles, electrical wires, iron wire and plastic brushes mounted on a metal support
174,5 x 73,4 x 73,4 cm
FGA-BA-RAYSS-0003
© Fondation Gandur pour l’Art, Geneva. Photographer : André Morin 
© 2021, ProLitteris, Zurich

Narrated by Lucie Pfeiffer, Assistant Curator Fine Arts Collection

"From 1959 onwards, Martial Raysse began to assemble plastic objects bought in reasonably-priced stores. Unlike his New Realists peers, such as Arman and his Accumulations, who criticized the considerable increase in products generated by a consumer society, Martial Raysse did away with the emotion conveyed by discarded, tired objects. His response can be found in his assemblages in bright pop colours, made from inexpensive products, the reflections of an industrialized society and a certain lifestyle. For example, brushes, empty flasks and even detergent bottles were combined in playful arrangements like this Arbre and bear witness to the thriving society of plenty that characterized the early 1960s."