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Couturier - Richier : une amitié sculpturale

10.02.23 - 29.04.23

Couturier - Richier : une amitié sculpturale

10.02.23 - 29.04.23

Couturier - Richier : une amitié sculpturale

10.02.23 - 29.04.23

ABOUT

 

“Maine was a marvellous friend and a very great artist. She succeeded in perfectly integrating the most unpredictable and dramatic elements of nature into an aesthetic pattern. Her sculptures have a life of their own, as present and powerful as the life of plants and stones, water and dumb animals. […] I feel the force of her work as only a sculptor can feel iti.”

This is how Robert Couturier (1905-2008) paid tribute to his friend Germaine Richier (1902-1959) who passed away in the summer of 1959. Being of the same generation, they met during the 1930s, a period when their work was taking shape, and participated in the exhibition “Contemporary Sculpture in France” at the Georges Petit gallery in Paris in 1934. During the same years, they also received the Blumenthal Prize, in 1930 for Robert Couturier and in 1936 for Germaine Richier. The post-war years marked the beginning of the recognition of their work.

They were both present in major collective exhibitions, notably in 1948 at the exhibitions “Contemporary Sculptors of the School of Paris” (Kunsthalle, Bern) and “Thirteen Sculptors of the School of Paris” (Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam), as well as at the Venice Biennales, in 1950 for Robert Couturier and in 1952 for Germaine Richier. They also participated in the first São Paulo Biennale in 1951, where each of them had one of their sculptures acquired (Richier’s “La Forêt” from 1946 joined the collection of the São Paulo Museum of Modern Art, and Couturier’s “La Jeune fille lamelliforme” from 1950 joined the collection of the Rio de Janeiro Museum of Modern Art).

Driven by a shared reflection on the representation of the human figure, which they notably shared with Alberto Giacometti, they sought to renew and deeply rethink the figurative language of sculpture. They created works where the bodies were highly constructed and elongated, with voids integrated into the form and irregular and heightened materials.

While Germaine Richier created a fantastic atmosphere inhabited by hybrid beings, Robert Couturier imagined a more mental expression marked by a certain Apollonian atmosphere.

This exhibition brings together these two sculptural personalities of the 1950s, highlighting the formal and aesthetic connections that bound these two artist-friends in the context of the post-war and 1950s years.

Valérie Da Costa


Exhibition Curator:

Valérie Da Costa is an art historian, art critic, and exhibition curator. Her work focuses notably on modern and contemporary sculpture and Italian art of the second half of the 20th century, on which she has published numerous texts and books in France and abroad. She recently curated the exhibitions “Germaine Richier, la magicienne” (Picasso Museum, Antibes, 2019), “Piero Gilardi, dalla natura all’arte” (Galerie Michel Rein, Paris, 2020), “Maillol, la forme libre” (Galerie Dina Vierny, 2021), “Turi Simeti: l’aventure monochrome(s)” (Galerie Almine Rech, 2022), and “Vita Nuova. Nouveaux enjeux de l’art en Italie 1960-1975” (MAMAC, Nice, 2022).

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INSTALLATION VIEWS

EXHIBITED WORKS

Germaine Richier EN
L'eau
1953-54 EN

Bronze 57 7/8 x 24 3/8 x 38 5/8 in.
Germaine Richier
Le Crapaud
1940

Bronze with brown patina 20.3 x 31.7 x 19.7 cm
Germaine Richier
La Vierge folle
1946

Bronze with brown patina 132 x 38 x 25 cm
Germaine Richier
Femme-coq n°3 ou Gabrielle
1954

Bronze with brown patina 19 x 14 x 10 cm
Germaine Richier
Loretto
1934

Bronze with brown patina 159.5 x 55 x 36 cm
Robert Couturier
Idylle
1956-57

Bronze 98 x 34 x 28 cm
Robert Couturier
Le Guerrier
1958

Bronze 47 x 29 x 7 cm
Robert Couturier
La petite pensée
1946

Bronze 46 x 12 x 8 cm
Robert Couturier
Femme debout à la cruche ou Danaïde
1956

Bronze 79 x 28 x 41 cm
Robert Couturier
Jeune fille lamelliforme
1950

Bronze 115 x 45.5 cm
Robert Couturier
Untitled
circa 1960

150 x 143 cm

Germaine Richier EN

L'eau

1953-54 EN

Bronze

57 7/8 x 24 3/8 x 38 5/8 in.

Germaine Richier

Le Crapaud

1940

Bronze with brown patina

20.3 x 31.7 x 19.7 cm

Germaine Richier

La Vierge folle

1946

Bronze with brown patina

132 x 38 x 25 cm

Germaine Richier

Femme-coq n°3 ou Gabrielle

1954

Bronze with brown patina

19 x 14 x 10 cm

Germaine Richier

Loretto

1934

Bronze with brown patina

159.5 x 55 x 36 cm

Robert Couturier

Idylle

1956-57

Bronze

98 x 34 x 28 cm

Robert Couturier

Le Guerrier

1958

Bronze

47 x 29 x 7 cm

Robert Couturier

La petite pensée

1946

Bronze

46 x 12 x 8 cm

Robert Couturier

Femme debout à la cruche ou Danaïde

1956

Bronze

79 x 28 x 41 cm

Robert Couturier

Jeune fille lamelliforme

1950

Bronze

115 x 45.5 cm

Robert Couturier

Untitled

circa 1960

150 x 143 cm

MULTIMEDIAS

EXHIBITED ARTISTS

Vladimir YANKILEVSKY

Aped quas parum qui beaquae preped eum volupitae odis re culpa volor autes nesciis am inus veliquibus. Rum fuga. Et ernam, que minvel Rum fuga. Et ernam, que minvel Rum fuga. Et ernam, que minvel Rum fuga. Et ernam, que minvelEt ernam, que minvel Rum fuga. Et ernam, que minvel Rum fuga. Et ernam, que minvel Rum fuga. Et ernam, que minvel

Vladimir YANKILEVSKY

Aped quas parum qui beaquae preped eum volupitae odis re culpa volor autes nesciis am inus veliquibus. Rum fuga. Et ernam, que minvel Rum fuga. Et ernam, que minvel Rum fuga. Et ernam, que minvel Rum fuga. Et ernam, que minvel Et ernam, que minvel Rum fuga. Et ernam, que minvel Rum fuga. Et ernam, que minvel Rum fuga. Et ernam, que minvel

artiste image a la une

Robert COUTURIER

Robert Couturier, a lithograph student in Paris, was quickly noticed in 1928 by Aristide Maillol. The latter is seduced by the «badly-done» aspect of his sculpture: «You, Couturier, in the badly-done kind, you will do something very good». Rob ...

artiste image a la une

Germaine RICHIER

She is one of the greatest sculptors of the XXth Century. She studied sculpture from 1920 at the School of Fine Arts in Montpellier, in the studio of Louis-Jacques Guigues, a former practitioner of Rodin; then, from 1926, she worked in Antoine Bou ...

Robert COUTURIER

Germaine RICHIER

PUBLICATIONS

img publication

COUTURIER RICHIER

Texts by Valérie Da Costa and Thierry Dufrêne.
Bilingual catalogue
french / english
20.5 x 26.5 cm
120 pages
Solid cover
35€

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lexistence est ailleurs a la une

Existence Is Elsewhere

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summer hanging 2022 a la une

Summer Hanging

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maillol heritage a la une

Maillol - Heritage

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ABOUT

 

“Maine was a marvellous friend and a very great artist. She succeeded in perfectly integrating the most unpredictable and dramatic elements of nature into an aesthetic pattern. Her sculptures have a life of their own, as present and powerful as the life of plants and stones, water and dumb animals. […] I feel the force of her work as only a sculptor can feel iti.”

This is how Robert Couturier (1905-2008) paid tribute to his friend Germaine Richier (1902-1959) who passed away in the summer of 1959. Being of the same generation, they met during the 1930s, a period when their work was taking shape, and participated in the exhibition “Contemporary Sculpture in France” at the Georges Petit gallery in Paris in 1934. During the same years, they also received the Blumenthal Prize, in 1930 for Robert Couturier and in 1936 for Germaine Richier. The post-war years marked the beginning of the recognition of their work.

They were both present in major collective exhibitions, notably in 1948 at the exhibitions “Contemporary Sculptors of the School of Paris” (Kunsthalle, Bern) and “Thirteen Sculptors of the School of Paris” (Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam), as well as at the Venice Biennales, in 1950 for Robert Couturier and in 1952 for Germaine Richier. They also participated in the first São Paulo Biennale in 1951, where each of them had one of their sculptures acquired (Richier’s “La Forêt” from 1946 joined the collection of the São Paulo Museum of Modern Art, and Couturier’s “La Jeune fille lamelliforme” from 1950 joined the collection of the Rio de Janeiro Museum of Modern Art).

Driven by a shared reflection on the representation of the human figure, which they notably shared with Alberto Giacometti, they sought to renew and deeply rethink the figurative language of sculpture. They created works where the bodies were highly constructed and elongated, with voids integrated into the form and irregular and heightened materials.

While Germaine Richier created a fantastic atmosphere inhabited by hybrid beings, Robert Couturier imagined a more mental expression marked by a certain Apollonian atmosphere.

This exhibition brings together these two sculptural personalities of the 1950s, highlighting the formal and aesthetic connections that bound these two artist-friends in the context of the post-war and 1950s years.

Valérie Da Costa


Exhibition Curator:

Valérie Da Costa is an art historian, art critic, and exhibition curator. Her work focuses notably on modern and contemporary sculpture and Italian art of the second half of the 20th century, on which she has published numerous texts and books in France and abroad. She recently curated the exhibitions “Germaine Richier, la magicienne” (Picasso Museum, Antibes, 2019), “Piero Gilardi, dalla natura all’arte” (Galerie Michel Rein, Paris, 2020), “Maillol, la forme libre” (Galerie Dina Vierny, 2021), “Turi Simeti: l’aventure monochrome(s)” (Galerie Almine Rech, 2022), and “Vita Nuova. Nouveaux enjeux de l’art en Italie 1960-1975” (MAMAC, Nice, 2022).

INSTALLATION VIEWS

EXHIBITED WORKS

Germaine Richier EN

1953-54 EN

L'eau

1953-54 EN

Bronze

57 7/8 x 24 3/8 x 38 5/8 in.

Germaine Richier

1940

Le Crapaud

1940

Bronze with brown patina

20.3 x 31.7 x 19.7 cm

Germaine Richier

1946

La Vierge folle

1946

Bronze with brown patina

132 x 38 x 25 cm

Germaine Richier

1954

Femme-coq n°3 ou Gabrielle

1954

Bronze with brown patina

19 x 14 x 10 cm

Germaine Richier

1934

Loretto

1934

Bronze with brown patina

159.5 x 55 x 36 cm

Robert Couturier

1956-57

Idylle

1956-57

Bronze

98 x 34 x 28 cm

Robert Couturier

1958

Le Guerrier

1958

Bronze

47 x 29 x 7 cm

Robert Couturier

1946

La petite pensée

1946

Bronze

46 x 12 x 8 cm

Robert Couturier

1956

Femme debout à la cruche ou Danaïde

1956

Bronze

79 x 28 x 41 cm

Robert Couturier

1950

Jeune fille lamelliforme

1950

Bronze

115 x 45.5 cm

Robert Couturier

circa 1960

Untitled

circa 1960

150 x 143 cm

MULTIMEDIAS

EXHIBITED ARTISTS

Vladimir YANKILEVSKY

Aped quas parum qui beaquae preped eum volupitae odis re culpa volor autes nesciis am inus veliquibus. Rum fuga. Et ernam, que minvel Rum fuga. Et ernam, que minvel Rum fuga. Et ernam, que minvel Rum fuga. Et ernam, que minvelEt ernam, que minvel Rum fuga. Et ernam, que minvel Rum fuga. Et ernam, que minvel Rum fuga. Et ernam, que minvel

Vladimir YANKILEVSKY

Aped quas parum qui beaquae preped eum volupitae odis re culpa volor autes nesciis am inus veliquibus. Rum fuga. Et ernam, que minvel Rum fuga. Et ernam, que minvel Rum fuga. Et ernam, que minvel Rum fuga. Et ernam, que minvel Et ernam, que minvel Rum fuga. Et ernam, que minvel Rum fuga. Et ernam, que minvel Rum fuga. Et ernam, que minvel

artiste image a la une

Robert COUTURIER

artiste image a la une

Germaine RICHIER

PUBLICATIONS

img publication

TITRE DE L’ARTICLE

Dimensions, technique, date
35 €
img publication

COUTURIER RICHIER

Texts by Valérie Da Costa and Thierry Dufrêne.
Bilingual catalogue
french / english
20.5 x 26.5 cm
120 pages
Solid cover
35€

E-SHOP

image de produit

TITRE DE L’ARTICLE

Dimensions, technique, date
35 €
image de produit
TITRE DE L’ARTICLE
Dimensions, technique, date
35 €
image de produit
TITRE DE L’ARTICLE
Dimensions, technique, date
35 €

SIMILAR EXHIBITIONS

lexistence est ailleurs a la une

Existence Is Elsewhere

Lire la suite
summer hanging 2022 a la une

Summer Hanging

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maillol heritage a la une

Maillol - Heritage

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Michel Haas

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ra'anan levy a la une gravures

Ra'anan Levy - Engravings

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Maillol, Free Form

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Blue-Red-Yellow, the palette of the modern Primitives

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hommage a raanan levy a la une

Tribute to Ra'anan Levy

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MAILLOL , LA FORME LIBRE

21.03.2021 - 20.06.2021

À PROPOS

Aped quas parum qui beaquae preped eum volupitae odis re culpa volor autes nesciis am inus veliquibus.Rum fuga. Et ernam, que minvel Aped quas parum qui beaquae preped eum volupitae odis re culpa volor autes nesciis am inus veliquibus.Rum fuga. Et ernam, que minvel Aped quas parum qui beaquae preped eum volupitae odis re culpa volor autes nesciis am inus veliquibus.Rum fuga. Et ernam, que minvel Aped quas parum

SIMILAR EXHIBITIONS

lexistence est ailleurs a la une

Existence Is Elsewhere

Lire la suite
summer hanging 2022 a la une

Summer Hanging

Lire la suite
maillol heritage a la une

Maillol - Heritage

Lire la suite

Michel Haas

Lire la suite
ra'anan levy a la une gravures

Ra'anan Levy - Engravings

Lire la suite

Maillol, Free Form

Lire la suite

Blue-Red-Yellow, the palette of the modern Primitives

Lire la suite
hommage a raanan levy a la une

Tribute to Ra'anan Levy

Lire la suite
Germaine Richier EN

1953-54 EN
Germaine Richier

1940
Germaine Richier

1946
Germaine Richier

1954
Germaine Richier

1934

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