Nahmad Contemporary and Perrotin are offering, from November 21st to December 21st, 2019, an exhibition by the late French artist Georges Mathieu (1921\u20132012), the founder of Lyrical Abstraction and a pioneer of performance art who foregrounded the techniques of tubism and dripping.<\/p>\n
This exhibition explores a specific period of Mathieu\u2019s rich and varied work. The 1980s, or more specifically the years between 1983 to 1991, correspond to a well-known era in France and Italy which echoes in Asia in the present time. Described by some as \u201ccosmic,\u201d a sort of pictorial \u201cstar wars,\u201d and by others as a \u201cbarbaric\u201d time, the 1980s were a turning point for Mathieu\u2019s art following his numerous experiments in the 1960s and 1970s involving geometric variations and the applied arts. In this decade, Mathieu returned to anti- geometric 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.<\/p>\n
This exhibition is the first dedicated to the artist in Hong Kong and pays tribute to Mathieu\u2019s longstanding links with Asia. Early in his career, Mathieu established a parallel between his work and Chinese calligraphy, notably their shared characteristic of spontaneity. Following a dialogue with Dr. Chou Ling and China\u2019s 20th-century master of calligraphy Zhang Daqian in 1956, Mathieu published an essay titled \u201cConnections between certain aspects of lyrical, non- figurative painting and Chinese calligraphy.\u201d In it, he asserted that unlike Western calligraphy, which was limited to the \u201cart of copying,\u201d the most liberated works of Lyrical Abstraction (he cited those of Pollock, Kline, Degottex, and Hanta\u00ef) underwent the same \u201cprocesses\u201d as the calligraphy of the Far East, exuding \u201ca primacy of the speed of execution,\u201d the absence of any \u201cpreexistence of form,\u201d the absence of any \u201cpremeditation of gesture,\u201d and an \u201cecstatic state.\u201d Calligraphy was one of the hallmarks of Mathieu\u2019s work. In the 1940s, he was the first to consider a theory of abstract calligraphy and the principle that signs could precede their meanings.<\/p>\n
Finally, the artist\u2019s trip to Japan in 1957 formed a decisive episode in the history of Action Painting for his performances before large audiences that were visionary and groundbreaking for their time. A few months before the trip, the manifesto of the Gutai movement, of which Kazuo Shiraga was a prominent representative, stated that its members \u201chighly regard the works of Pollock and Mathieu. Their work reveals the scream of matter itself, cries of the paint and enamel.\u201d The movement\u2019s recognition of this duumvirate reflects Mathieu\u2019s eminence during the 1950s, not only in terms of his international reputation but also his artistic and historical relevance.<\/p>\n