Nouveau Réalisme: A Family Passion
19 september - 21 december 2024
In 1960, the Nouveau Réalisme art movement was officially born in Paris. Led by art critic Pierre Restany, the artists who signed the group’s “Constitutive Declaration” claimed to have “become aware of their collective singularity” and promulgated “new perceptual approaches to reality”. The movement was characterised by the use of found materials and everyday objects, often transformed or assembled in original ways, to explore and reflect on contemporary society and its values.
The exhibition Nouveau Réalisme: A Family Passion brings together a selection of over ninety works of art created by the eleven main exponents of the movement and offers a unique opportunity to dive into this revolutionary creative current.
Jacques Villeglé, Rue de Moussy, 1962, Manifesti lacerati montati su tela, 16,3 x 11,7 cm, Collezione privata © 2024, ProLitteris, Zurich
Jean Tinguely, Hallo Helli Eble, 1978, Tecnica mista e collage su carta, 29.5 x 21 cm, Collezione privata © 2024, ProLitteris, Zurich
Niki de Saint Phalle, Two-Headed Serpent, 1981-1982, Resina poliestere dipinta su base in ferro, 68 x 115 x 35 cm, Collezione privata © Niki Charitable Art Foundation / 2024, ProLitteris, Zurich
"Drawing serves as a support for me; it helps me when technical issues arise [...] That's why I need to draw in order to progress... to clearly see my visions in front of my eyes, which are not always obvious... I need to search and find, to create a platform for myself to work, my springboard to function. To do this, I must draw..."
Jean Tinguely
Among the various artistic experiences, the sculptures of Niki de Saint Phalle and Yves Klein or the panoplies of Gérard Deschamps are presented alongside Arman’s accumulations, César’s compressions, Christo’s wrappings, Daniel Spoerri’s tableaux-pièges, and the décollages of Raymond Hains, Jacques Villeglé and Mimmo Rotella. By Swiss artist Jean Tinguely, there is a significant collection of “Illustrated Letters”: works of art in their own right, in which the artist combines elements of visual art and written communication. Besides containing personal messages, thoughts on art, ideas for future projects or reflections on life, these letters reflect the innovative and playful nature of Tinguely’s work.
