Narrative Figuration artists marked a turning point in the history of art. Unlike Pop Art, where consumer goods occupy a central place in popular culture, this movement used caustic and critical imagery, along with a committed and realistic figurative language, to challenge consumerism on both moral and political grounds. Anticipating ecological and economic crises, its concerns resonate strikingly with the upheavals of our own decade. Yet beyond its critical stance, the movement also reaffirmed a demanding approach to painting, placing technique back at the heart of artistic creation.
The exhibition brings together works by Valerio Adami, Gilles Aillaud, Eduardo Arroyo, René Bértholo, Henri Cueco, Dado, Erró, Franta, Alain Jacquet, Gérard Fromanger, Peter Klasen, Jacques Monory, Bernard Rancillac, Peter Saul, Peter Stämpfli, Gérard Schlosser, Hervé Télémaque and Jan Voss.
Narrative Figuration emerged between two landmark exhibitions, Mythologies quotidiennes I (1964) and Mythologies quotidiennes II (1977), both curated by Gérald Gassiot-Talabot. Unlike comic strips, these works convey the complexity and expressive power of a narrative through a single image confined to the space of the canvas. To achieve this, artists often combined imagery drawn from contemporary society and the media—photographs, magazines, comics and more. The resulting works generate new meanings that viewers are invited to interpret and make their own.
The exhibition is presented in partnership with Eur’Art, a foundation supporting European artistic creation, La Fabrique Centre d’Art, the Musée des Beaux-Arts of Dole and Chambéry, the 21 Bis Mirabeau cultural centre in the Bouches-du-Rhône department, and the Musée de l’Hospice Saint-Roch in Issoudun.
