Press release
Galerie Michael Werner, Märkisch Wilmersdorf is pleased to announce an exhibition of paintings by Jean Fautrier (1898–1964).
André Malraux once described the paintings of Fautrier as being “equally far away from the abstract as from the realistic.” But, per Fautrier, “reality does not only exist, you should also by no means reject it.”
Even the most abstract paintings by Fautrier do not deny their connection to the real world. In his early years, during a period of fondness of the works of William Turner, it was not Fautrier’s intention to depict what was actually there. In this sense, a landscape painted by Fautrier does not refer to a certain specific area but more generally to vegetation and spatial forms: and a nude does not refer to the individual but to the body.
The exhibition at Märkisch Wilmersdorf concentrates on female nudes and flower still-lifes. Both motifs are representative of the artist’s early works, with the exhibited paintings ranging from the years 1929 to 1937. The still-lifes “Fleures noires” and “Vase d’iris” show Fautrier’s exceptional sense of colour. The substantive character so typical of his late works is just about to begin; the impasto is still restrained and the colour application reminiscent of the visually much softer glazed paintings. Only later would the artist work with relief. Fautrier’s technique of first painting on paper and later mounting this paper on canvas can be seen in the two 1937 “Nu feminin allongé” paintings, which both possess a unique surface vitality.
Jean Fautrier was born on 16 May 1898 in Paris. He spent his childhood in London, where he first attended the Royal Academy of Arts and later the Slade School of Fine Art. At the Tate Gallery, Fautrier discovered the late works of William Turner. Fautrier was wounded in the First World War and returned to France in the early 1920s, where he fought on the side of the Résistance. He gained a wider appreciation only after the Second World War. His work stands autonomously among those of Wols, Hartung and others, but the often-attributed closeness to informal art can be disregarded when one discovers its clearly visible relation to reality. Jean Fautrier died on 21 July 1964 in Châtenay-Malabry in the Département Hauts-de-Seine.
This exhibition at Galerie Michael Werner in Märkisch Wilmersdorf is accompanied by a leporello. It opens 6 June 2017 and remains on view through 28 July 2017. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday, 10am to 5pm. Booking in advance is recommended by phone +49 (0)33731 32010 or email galeriewerner@michaelwerner.de.