SUPPORT/SURFACE

The exhibition Supports/Surfaces showcases works by 16 French artists from the collections of the Centre Pompidou’s Museum of Modern Art in Paris. The activity of the Supports/Surfaces artist group reflects the period of societal transformation at the turn of the 1960s and 1970s, which also influenced visual arts. At that time, painting in particular became a subject of analysis and critique.

Although the artists associated with the Supports/Surfaces name organized only four joint exhibitions (1970–71), their work significantly contributed to the renewal of French art. Many of the group’s artists worked in Southern France as a deliberate counterpoint to Paris’s dominance as the sole center of art, as well as to the prevailing influence of contemporary art movements like the so-called Paris School and Nouveau Réalisme. The group’s goals, both in theory and practice, were closely aligned with the radical international art movements of the time, with American abstract expressionism and minimalism being particularly influential to its members.

Many Supports/Surfaces artists rejected the traditional form of painting as a stretched canvas on a frame. Their works are stripped-down, experimental structures defined by minimalistic expression. The status of art itself was challenged through the choice of materials—many artists tied, braided, sculpted, or assembled their works from string, ropes, branches, or other inexpensive materials. The painting process was demystified, reduced to mechanical stamping, dyeing, or simply folding the fabric into pleats to create patterns.

The exhibition features works by the following artists: André-Pierre Arnal, Vincent Bioulès, Pierre Buraglio, Louis Cane, Marc Devade, Daniel Dezeuze, Noël Dolla, Toni Grand, Christian Jaccard, Jean-Michel Meurice, Bernard Pagès, Jean-Pierre Pincemin, François Rouan, Patrick Saytour, André Valensi, and Claude Viallat.

The exhibition Les années Supports/Surfaces dans les collections du Centre Georges Pompidou has been jointly curated by Galerie nationale du Jeu de Paume and the Centre Georges Pompidou, Musée national d’art moderne. Daniel Abadie serves as the exhibition curator. The exhibition publication (200 pages) includes articles, a chronology, a bibliography, and extensive illustrations. The French-language catalog contains a Finnish translation supplement.