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  • Georges Mathieu in brief

    Founder of Lyrical Abstraction, inventor of performance art and dripping, pioneer of Action Painting, speed and risk, early inspirer of street art

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    Georges Mathieu


    Georges Mathieu, the inventor of performance art (
    Georges Mathieu, the inventor of performance art (2/2) ⠀ (Read part 1/2 before) In 1957, Georges Mathieu went to Japan, he executed in Tokyo 21 canvasses in three days including an 8- and a 15-meter fresco, painted in a very short time in front of a large crowd, then in Osaka, he painted in public on the roof of the Daimaru, dressed in a kimono—he wishes to “reintroduce the notion of play into art and culture.” In 1959, he painted Le Massacre de la Saint-Barthélemy under the eyes of TV cameras in Paris, while jazz drummer Kenny Clarke was soloing next to the canvas. ⠀ But then why this glaring omission? Kristine Stiles has an answer to it (from the same article): “Why was Mathieu's contribution to art history (and in particular to performance history) neglected at the time? Why did his theoretical writings fall into oblivion? The negative reaction of American critics to Mathieu's work seems to me to refer to the old obsession with exhibitionism in the United States, especially the one captured by photography and published in mainstream magazines such as Time. That he was rich, eccentric, and aristocratic in essence, and showed it, did little to help him in the puritan climate of the time. In Europe, some artists linked to the political left rejected Mathieu because of his royalist convictions. This would have been understandable if Yves Klein's royalism had changed the reception he received from the avant-garde.” ⠀ Even though he did not use the word “performance” to describe his art, which is logical as there was no previous reference, in his books Mathieu explained he was placing the work of art “at the crossroads of the object, the act, and the behavior”. According to him there had to be an object, a resulting work of art, for instance a painting, and he would later reject the purely conceptual and more recent versions of performance art. Nonetheless, the act and behavior aspects of this trilogy clearly relate to performance art, therefore he did not only anticipate performance art, he theorized and executed the earliest version of it. ⠀ #GeorgesMathieu #Pioneer #Performance #PerformanceArt

    Georges Mathieu, the inventor of performance art (
    Georges Mathieu, the inventor of performance art (1/2) ⠀ Reading the Wikipedia page on performance art, one can wonder why, while there is a (too) short mention of Japan's Gutai movement, who undeniably anticipated performance art, there is absolutely no mention of Georges Mathieu, the founder of Lyrical Abstraction (the European equivalent of Abstract Expressionism) who inspired Gutai (Mathieu and Pollock are the two artists referred to in Gutai's manifesto of 1956), who inspired Yves Klein (who was a friend of Mathieu and fellow royalist) and who inspired the Viennese Actionists (Mathieu painted a 6 x 2.5 meter artwork at the Fleischmarkt Theater, the avant-garde theatre and home of the Viennese Actionists). ⠀ Art historian Kristine Stiles states, in an article titled “Painting, photography, performance: the case of Georges Mathieu” for the exhibition catalogue of Georges Mathieu's retrospective at the Galerie du Jeu de Paume in Paris in 2002: “Yves Klein saw in him a guide and one of his royalist peers. The famous Saut dans le vide (1960), with which Klein documented through photography a leap into the unique, spontaneous and dangerous space, testifies to his debt to Mathieu. But Klein's debt to his mentor is also conceptual and intellectual. Klein's interest in danger, impulsiveness of gesture, speed and improvisation, which he expressed, among other things, through his lively brushes, echoes Mathieu's approach. The Viennese Actionists also recognized Mathieu, making his performance on April 2, 1959 in Vienna at the Theater am Fleischmarkt an important factor in their decision to devote themselves to action.” ⠀ Mathieu was the first to organize performances and happenings, as early as in 1954 he invites a small crowd of journalists and amateurs to see the live painting of one of his most famous paintings: Les Capétiens partout!, a 6-meter long artwork that he executes in an hour and twenty minutes. In May, 1956, in front of around 2,000 people at the Théâtre de la Ville – Sarah-Bernhardt, on the Night of Poetry, to action paint a huge canvas measuring twelve by four meters, using up to 800 paint tubes. ⠀ #GeorgesMathieu #Pioneer #Performance #PerformanceArt

    In its February 20 edition of the newscast (5M vie
    In its February 20 edition of the newscast (5M viewers), France 2 honours Georges Mathieu, the “very great artist who revolutionized post-war painting” and whom we are rediscovering today. “We remember Jackson Pollock, but in reality the star is Georges Mathieu, who invented performance with this revolutionary way of painting.” FULL VIDEO WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES ON OUR FACEBOOK PAGE and on our YouTube channel ⠀ Dans son édition du journal de 20 heures du 20 février, France 2 met à l'honneur Georges Mathieu, le « très grand artiste qui a révolutionné la peinture d'après-guerre » et qu'on redécouvre aujourd'hui. « On se souvient de Jackson Pollock mais en réalité la star c'est Georges Mathieu, c'est lui qui invente la performance avec cette façon de peindre révolutionnaire. » Vidéo complète sur notre page Facebook ⠀ Mille mercis à @MarieBerrurier / @ASLapix / @France2 ainsi qu’à @HuguesSebilleau et @ApplicatPrazan @GaleriePerrotin @NahmadContemporary @ArtBasel Vidéo © France Télévisions #GeorgesMathieu #Pioneer #Performance #PerformanceArt #Happening #LyricalAbstraction #AbstractExpressionism #ActionPainting #ModernArt #ContemporaryArt #AbstractArt #Art #Abstract #Artist #Color #Painting #AvantGarde #ArtDaily #ArtCollector #AbstractPainting #Revolutionary #Pollock #ArtHistory

    #Repost @galerieperrotin
    ・・・
    💫 Georges Ma
    #Repost @galerieperrotin ・・・ 💫 Georges Mathieu’s current exhibition at Perrotin Hong Kong explores the development of his calligraphic language in the 1980s. Early in his career, Mathieu established a parallel between his work and Chinese calligraphy, notably their shared characteristic of spontaneity. In the 1940s, he was the first to consider a theory of abstract calligraphy and the principle that signs could precede their meanings. Then, following a dialogue with Dr. Chou Ling and China’s 20th-century master of calligraphy Zhang Daqian in 1956, Mathieu published an essay titled “Connections between certain aspects of lyrical, nonfigurative painting and Chinese calligraphy.” In it, he asserted that unlike Western calligraphy, which was limited to the “art of copying,” the most liberated works of Lyrical Abstraction underwent the same “processes” as the calligraphy of the Far East, exuding “a primacy of the speed of execution,” the absence of any “preexistence of form,” and of any “premeditation of gesture,” and an “ecstatic state.” — Georges Mathieu 📍 Perrotin Hong Kong 📆 On view through December 21, 2019 — #GeorgesMathieu #LyricalAbstraction #NahmadContemporary #PerrotinHongKong #Perrotin — Views of Georges Mathieu's solo exhibition at Perrotin Hong Kong, 2019. Photo: Ringo Cheung. © Georges Mathieu / ADAGP, Paris, 2019. Courtesy of the artist & Perrotin.

    #Repost @galerieperrotin
    ・・・
    Opening today a
    #Repost @galerieperrotin ・・・ Opening today at Perrotin Hong Kong! #GeorgesMathieu's solo exhibition showcases never-before-seen works from the 1980s. 💥 The 1980s, or more specifically the years between 1983 to 1991, correspond to a well-known era in France and Italy. Described by some as “cosmic,” a sort of pictorial “star wars,” and by others as a “barbaric” time, the 1980s were a turning point for Mathieu’s art following his numerous experiments in the 1960s and 1970s involving geometric variations and the applied arts. In this decade, Mathieu returned to antigeometric lyricism and depicted his calligraphic language of the 1950s in a totally new form. The works display vehement gestures, broken lines, explosions of painting and color, highly contrastive colors, and in some, the background forms a striking impression of cavernous depths. — 喬治·馬修於貝浩登香港的個展今天開幕！展覽呈現馬修80年代未曾展出過的畫作，歡迎蒞臨畫廊觀展！ 馬修80年代的作品（更明確地說是1983至1991年間繪畫的油畫）呼應當時於法國和意大利極富盛名的藝術時期，而該時期正在亞洲出現迴響。在經過1960與1970年代多次嘗試幾何變化與應用藝術的實驗後，馬修來到1980年代的轉捩點。有人形容為「宇宙風格」，有如圖像化的「星際戰爭」；有人則指是「蠻荒」時期。1980年代馬修亦回歸反幾何的抒情主義，及他在1950年代採用的書法語言，不過以全新的形式再現，除了強烈的肢體演繹、斷續的線條、顏料與色彩的爆發、對比鮮明的顏色，更不時配以過目難忘的深邃背景。 — Georges Mathieu 📍 Perrotin Hong Kong 📆 November 21 – December 21, 2019 — #LyricalAbstraction #NahmadContemporary #PerrotinHongKong #Perrotin — Views of Georges Mathieu's solo exhibition at Perrotin Hong Kong, 2019. Photo: Ringo Cheung. © Georges Mathieu / ADAGP, Paris, 2019. Courtesy of the artist & Perrotin.

    #Repost @nahmadcontemporary
    ・・・
    Nahmad Conte
    #Repost @nahmadcontemporary ・・・ Nahmad Contemporary and Perrotin are delighted to announce an exhibition in Hong Kong by the late French artist Georges Mathieu (1921–2012), the founder of Lyrical Abstraction and a pioneer of performance art. Exploring Mathieu 1980’s specific period, this exhibition is the first dedicated to the artist in Hong Kong and pays tribute to Mathieu’s longstanding links with Asia. Early in his career, Mathieu established a parallel between his work and Chinese calligraphy, notably their shared characteristic of spontaneity. . Perrotin HK - 17/F, 50 Connaught Road Central Nov 21 – Dec 21, 2019 #GeorgesMathieu #PerrotinHK ©️ Georges Mathieu / ADAGP, Paris, 2019. Courtesy of the artist & Perrotin

    #Repost @galerieperrotin
    ・・・
    Coming soon! Ge
    #Repost @galerieperrotin ・・・ Coming soon! Georges Mathieu's solo exhibition at Perrotin Hong Kong will be the first dedicated to the late French painter in the city. Co-presented with Nahmad Contemporary, this themed exhibition, comprised of unseen works from the 80's, will pay tribute to the artist's longstanding links with Asia. Mathieu is the founder of Lyrical Abstraction and a pioneer of performance art who foregrounded the techniques of tubism, dripping, gigantism, and speed. Join us for the opening on Thursday November 21 from 6 to 8pm! — 已故法國畫家喬治·馬修於貝浩登香港的個展即將開幕，大家不容錯過！ 展覽由納哈邁德當代畫廊與貝浩登共同舉辦，是馬修在香港的首次個展，將陳列藝術家未曾公開展出的80年代作品，向他與亞洲相當悠久的連結致敬。馬修是抒情抽象派的始創人，亦是行為藝術的先驅， 帶起了「導管主義」、「滴彩」、 「巨型主義」及 「速畫」的創作技藝。開幕酒會將於11月21日（週四）晚上6至8時舉行，到時歡迎大家來畫廊觀展！ — Georges Mathieu 📍 Perrotin Hong Kong 📆 November 21 – December 21, 2019 — #GeorgesMathieu #LyricalAbstraction #NahmadContemporary #PerrotinHongKong #Perrotin — Georges Mathieu, Abîme absolue, 1990. Oil on canvas, 100 x 81 cm | 39 3/8 x 31 7/8 in. © Georges Mathieu / ADAGP, Paris, 2019 Courtesy of the artist & Perrotin

    Georges MATHIEU — Pauxi (1979)
    on the @NAHMADcon
    Georges MATHIEU — Pauxi (1979) on the @NAHMADcontemporary booth at @FIACparis Georges MATHIEU — Composition (1970) on the @GaleriePERROTIN booth at FIAC Paris October 3–6, 2019 ⠀ @emmanuelperrotin @capucinemilliot @vanessaaclairet @sarahsucotorres @ql4ra ⠀ Follow this account for more artworks! ⠀ #FIAC #GeorgesMathieu #Pioneer #LyricalAbstraction #AbstractExpressionism #ActionPainting #ModernArt #ContemporaryArt #AbstractArt #Exhibition #ArtShow #Art #Abstract #Artist #Color #Painting #AvantGarde #Museum #Gallery #ArtDaily #PhotoOfTheDay #ArtCollector #ArtOfTheDay #AbstractPainting #OilPainting #ArtArchive #ArtHistory

    #Repost @galerieperrotin
    ・・・
    #FIAC is openin
    #Repost @galerieperrotin ・・・ #FIAC is opening today at Grand Palais. Visit our booth A32! 💫 We are pleased to present a new group of works by Genesis Belanger, marking the artist’s first collaboration with the gallery since joining our roster this year. Concurrently, two spaces in our booth are dedicated to a selection of recent works by Jean-Michel Othoniel and John Henderson. We are also exhibiting significant works by Iván Argote, Daniel Arsham, Lee Bae, Johan Creten, Laurent Grasso, Hans Hartung, Thilo Heinzmann, Gregor Hildebrandt, JR, Izumi Kato, Georges Mathieu, Claire Tabouret, Xavier Veilhan and Pieter Vermeersch among others. Don’t miss Johan Creten’s monumental work 'De Vleermuis' (the Bat) in front of the Petit Palais for FIAC Projects! — 📍 FIAC Booth A32 📆 October 17 – 20, 2019 — #GenesisBelanger #JeanMichelOthoniel #JohnHenderson #JohanCreten #DeVleermuis #FIACProjects #FIAC2019 #Perrotin — - Views of Perrotin booth at FIAC, 2019. Photographer: Claire Dorn. - View of Johan Creten's 'De Vleermuis' in front of the Petot Palais for FIAC Projects, 2019. Photographer: Tanguy Beurdeley. Courtesy of the artists and Perrotin.


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    Georges Mathieu

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    • French newscast with 5M viewers: Rediscovering Georges Mathieu
    • Georges Mathieu’s first solo exhibition in Hong Kong
    • Georges Mathieu’s museum-quality solo booth at Frieze Masters in London
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  • All artworks of Georges Mathieu © Comité Georges Mathieu / ADAGP