This text is part of the special book Plaisirs
1er July, the famous Maeght Foundation will reopen its splendid museum space to the public and will present unpublished works by Jean Paul Riopelle, as well as a choreography inspired by the artist’s decor projects, hitherto unknown to the public.
Perched high on a hillside in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, a splendid village in the south of France, the Maeght Foundation owns and exhibits one of the largest collections of modern and contemporary art in Europe. Created in 1964 by Marguerite and Aimé Maeght, then renowned publishers and art dealers, it was born of the close ties of friendship that the couple had with several major artists of the 20th century.e century, including Miró, Chagall, Braque and Fernand Léger.
Much more than a museum or an exhibition center, the place quickly becomes a very singular place of experimentation and exchanges, designed in collaboration with the artists who gravitate there and who express themselves there by sometimes integrating their works. to nature and to the building, the one created for these purposes by Josep Lluís Sert, a Catalan architect influenced by Le Corbusier.
In addition to the rooms where the paintings of great masters of the XXe century, various outdoor spaces were born over the years and through experimentation: the Giacometti courtyard, the Miró labyrinth, the mural mosaics of Chagall…
Today, the Maeght Foundation incorporates a fabulous garden of monumental outdoor sculptures and exhibits several items from its rich collection of 13,000 works, including paintings, lithographs and engravings by Jean Paul Riopelle, another friend of the family.
From “La Joute” to “Scents of Workshops”
“Between dad and Riopelle, it was a real friendship, a real bond: the minute they met, they got along,” recalls Isabelle Maeght, daughter of Adrien Maeght and granddaughter of the founders of the foundation that bears his name. She also remembers a man with a beguiling smile who liked to let his fertile creativity shine in Saint-Paul-de-Vence.
“The only ceramics created by Riopelle were made here, and the first time that The Jousting was exhibited, it is also here, in its plaster version, she says. It was by seeing it that the City of Montreal, which originally did not want it, decided. »
Very young, Isabelle Maeght grew up rubbing shoulders with Yseult, one of the two daughters of the Quebec artist. Thanks to this privileged link and after two exhibitions on Riopelle at the Maeght Foundation, in 1970 and in 1990, it was therefore easy for him to approach the president of the Jean Paul Riopelle Foundation to organize a new exhibition, Workshop perfumeswhich will be presented to the Maeght Foundation from 1er July. “We are going to try to show a Riopelle that people don’t know, a man with all his research, not just an artist,” says Isabelle Maeght.
A unique Riopelle
Workshop perfumes will unveil works from the collection of the Maeght Foundation, but also from the Center Pompidou (including Chevreuse, the artist’s largest canvas), the Canadian Embassy in Paris, private collectors, etc. In addition to paintings and engravings, it will include large enamelled lavas which will be exhibited for the first time, bronzes unknown to the public, collages and… surprising decorations created from unpublished sketchbooks by Riopelle.
“Originally, these were made in 1967 for a choreography by Merce Cunningham, says Isabelle Maeght. When Yseult told us about their existence, we said to ourselves that we were going to bring them to life, because we were already thinking of creating a show around Riopelle for the exhibition. »
“It’s quite crazy, because no one, not even the Riopelle specialists, knows of the existence of these decor projects! says Frédéric Hubin, director of sponsorship, communication and development at the foundation. Recently produced for the exhibition from the original sketchbooks, these form large painted panels measuring six by four meters. A troupe of dancers led by choreographer Noé Soulier will cross the cutouts planned by Riopelle in these panels during the performance of the piece. Crossingscreated for the exhibition.
This event will also mark the return of dance to the Maeght Foundation, but it is also a way for it to reconnect with the multidisciplinarity that made it known from its beginnings – at the time when Duke Ellington was there. produced by improvising Blues for Miro. You should know that Aimé Maeght did not establish any hierarchy between painting, sculpture, dance and music: all were, in his eyes, “living arts”.
Closed for eight months for renovation and extension work, the Maeght Foundation will reopen on 1er July, while the new rooms and infrastructures will be completed, which will be inaugurated in 2024. These will make it possible to further showcase the impressive collections of this unique place, “where art, architecture and nature interact in perfect harmony”.
Our collaborator was the guest of eviivo and the Côte d’Azur Regional Tourism Committee.
This content was produced by the Special Publications team of the Duty, relating to marketing. The drafting of Duty did not take part.