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EXPOSITION PICASSO PRIMITIF

Musée du Quai Branly, 75007 Paris
2017

Negro art? Don’t know it.” It was with this provocative tone that the Andalusian painter, sculptor and graphic artist made a point of denying his relationship with non-European art. However, and as his personal collection demonstrates, the arts of Africa, Oceania, the Americas and Asia never ceased to accompany him in all his various studios. The documents, letters, objects and photographs brought together in the first part of the exhibition and displayed chronologically, are evidence of this, demonstrating Picasso’s interests and curiosity about non-Western creation.

In a second, more conceptual section, Primitive Picasso offers a comparative view of the artist’s works with those of non-Western artists, and leans more towards an anthropology of art than an analysis of aesthetic relationships. The resulting confrontation reveals the similar issues those artists have had to address (nudity, sexuality, impulses and loss) through parallel plastic solutions (deforming or deconstructing bodies, for example). Primitive art, therefore, is no longer considered to be a stage of non-development, but rather an access to the deepest, most fundamental layers of the human being.

EXPOSITION OUVRIR L’ALBUM DU MONDE, PHOTOGRAPHIES 1842-1896

Louvre Abu Dhabi, Émirats arabes unis
Concours 2017

Il s’agit littéralement de se plonger dans une aventure, celle des pionniers de l’histoire de la photographie. Chacun doit, au sortir de l’exposition, avoir pris conscience de l’importance qu’a pu représenter le travail de tous ces précurseurs – créateurs de génie, explorateurs de planète, inventeurs visionnaires – sur l’environnement de notre vie quotidienne, «l’image » au fil du temps n’a pas perdu son influence magique.
Le parcours de l’exposition comporte six sections clairement identifiées par des ambiances et mises en scènes spécifiques et variées : En miroir du monde / Des mondes exportables / Tout voir, tout prendre / Atlas et compilation / Appropriation du medium photographique / Invisibilités.

L’objectif est de donner à voir, au-delà du contenu de l’image, la matérialité des objets présentés, essentielle dans le parcours sensoriel de l’exposition, mais aussi dans un but pédagogique pour donner des clefs sur le sens social et historique du médium. Au-delà de l’homogénéité apparente des œuvres exposées, la scénographie reflète par les changements d’atmosphères et de circulation, la pluralité des approches et des sujets traités par les opérateurs, et met à l’honneur la richesse de la production photographique internationale dès les premières décennies du médium.
Une balade agréable mais rapidement effectuée pour certains, une découverte évocatrice pour d’autres, une réelle possibilité de s’instruire pour les derniers, le parcours a été conçu comme une promenade aisée que chacun peut effectuer selon sa propre notion du plaisir de découvrir.

EXPOSITION LES NABIS ET LE DECOR MODERNE, UN DIALOGUE ORIENT-OCCIDENT

Louvre Abu Dhabi, Émirats arabes unis
Concours 2017

L’exposition aborde la question de la naissance du décor moderne à travers la présentation d’une quarantaine de peintures décoratives réalisées par les Nabis (Maurice Denis, Paul et Marguerite Sérusier, Pierre Bonnard, Edouard Vuillard, Ker-Xavier Roussel) et par Odilon Redon conservées dans les collections du musée d’Orsay. Cette sélection est ponctuellement complétée par des prêts du Louvre Abu-Dhabi et du musée Guimet.
Le parcours de l’exposition comprend 4 sections illustrant les principes esthétiques qui ont guidé ces artistes vers un renouveau de la peinture décorative à la fin du XIXe siècle et au tournant du XXe siècle sous l’influence de l’art japonais. Le dialogue entre culture occidentale et culture orientale constitue un enjeu important de la scénographie.

Le parti pris de la mise en scène de cette quarantaine d’œuvres est de créer un fil directeur à l’histoire que l’on compte raconter tout au long des quatre sections ,et pour cela, d’utiliser la couleur comme un outil d’aide à cette mise en lumière. La couleur ne se limite pas ici uniquement à une fonction décorative mais doit permettre de faire comprendre qu’elle était un véritable enjeu dans le discours du groupe des peintres nabis.
Le parcours est fluide avec des espaces ouverts permettant d’apercevoir certaines œuvres d’une section à l’autre de l’exposition. Les enjeux de la scénographie sont multiples : mettre en valeur des œuvres de techniques et de formats différents, assurer le lien entre peintures occidentales et art japonais, équilibrer les espaces de contemplation et les dispositifs de médiation.

EXPOSITION LES FORETS NATALES

Musée du Quai Branly, 75007 Paris
2018

The cultural region encompassing the Gabonese Republic, the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Southern Cameroon and the West of the Republic of Congo at the heart of Atlantic Equatorial Africa is one of great sculptural tradition. The expertise of Fang, Kota, Tsogo and Punu artists when it comes to plastics is notably showcased in a form of religious sculpture linked to the Cult of Ancestors and spirit masks. These types of major arts played a key role in shaping the modern perspective in the West when they were discovered in the early 20th century by artists such as Picasso, Derain and Braque.

The exhibition offers a detailed insight into the main styles showcased in a selection of symbolic – and often unique – works from major public and private collections in a «classic» approach to art history. It provides an opportunity not only to explore the similarities and transformations between and the defining features of the art produced by the various populations that live within this extensive area that has been shaped by migration, but also, in short, to uncover the creativity and extraordinary originality of the art produced by each of the populations living within the Atlantic Equatorial forest.

Exposition Upside down Les Arctiques

Musée du quai Branly, 75007 Paris, France
2008-2009

Although very different, each of the two exhibitions is conceptually characterized by the search for simplicity, reflecting the extraordinary environment of the Arctic and its vastness for UPSIDE DOWN, with the fundamental humility and modesty “nourishing beauty as human virtue” for Soetsu Yanagi, promoter of the MINGEI movement. For UPSIDE DOWN, we sought to recreate the sensory perceptions of this landscape in order to provoke responsiveness in the visitor to both utilitarian and intimate objects. For MINGEI, this search for simplicity has led to the creation of a single presentation support allowing the visitor to have a clear and immediate perception of both the isolated object and its place within the whole.

The concept focused primarily on how to inscribe the two projects in the existing space with the aim of blending naturally into the forms and volumes in the Garden gallery. Secondly, it involved choosing an ideal location for each of the two exhibits within the overall space, so as to be consistent with the principle mentioned above and with the desires of the two curators in the “detailed program of exhibitions.”
Thus, the exhibition space UPSIDE DOWN – accessible on the left after the ramp down – flares out from the lobby to the north façade. Its western boundary is defined by a wall at the location of the curtain “Issey Miyake”, and its eastern limit defined by the neighboring exhibit, marked by a curved partition located under the elevated ramp. The remaining area of the gallery is devoted to the MINGEI exhibition space that stretches along the south-east facade.
Duration of the exhibit: September 2008 – January 2009.

Exposition l’esprit Mingei au Japon

Musée du quai Branly, 75007 Paris, France
2008-2009

Although very different, each of the two exhibitions is conceptually characterized by the search for simplicity, reflecting the extraordinary environment of the Arctic and its vastness for UPSIDE DOWN, with the fundamental humility and modesty “nourishing beauty as human virtue” for Soetsu Yanagi, promoter of the MINGEI movement. For UPSIDE DOWN, we sought to recreate the sensory perceptions of this landscape in order to provoke responsiveness in the visitor to both utilitarian and intimate objects. For MINGEI, this search for simplicity has led to the creation of a single presentation support allowing the visitor to have a clear and immediate perception of both the isolated object and its place within the whole.

The concept focused primarily on how to inscribe the two projects in the existing space with the aim of blending naturally into the forms and volumes in the Garden gallery. Secondly, it involved choosing an ideal location for each of the two exhibits within the overall space, so as to be consistent with the principle mentioned above and with the desires of the two curators in the “detailed program of exhibitions.”
Thus, the exhibition space UPSIDE DOWN – accessible on the left after the ramp down – flares out from the lobby to the north façade. Its western boundary is defined by a wall at the location of the curtain “Issey Miyake”, and its eastern limit defined by the neighboring exhibit, marked by a curved partition located under the elevated ramp. The remaining area of the gallery is devoted to the MINGEI exhibition space that stretches along the south-east facade.
Duration of the exhibit: September 2008 – January 2009.

Foire Art Paris + Guest

Grand Palais, 75001 Paris, France
2010

A regular participant in Art Paris since 2006, Jean Brolly has chosen to invite the architect Jean de Gastines for its 2010 edition. Together, they have designed an unusual exhibit, very different from those we typically see in art fairs. This bold choice allows an interesting dialogue between architecture and contemporary art. The artistic line defended by Jean Brolly has much in common with the rules of construction – the works of François Morellet, David Tremlett, Michel Verjux, Nicolas Chardon often use these principles. The architectural idea proposed by Jean de Gastines is based on a clear understanding of functions and an economy of means out of respect for the environment. Exhibit Grand Palais, Paris, 18-22 March 2010.