To mark the addition of works by Daniel Pommereulle to its collection, the Musée d'Art Moderne de Paris is paying tribute to this extraordinary figure on the French art scene. Painter, sculptor, filmmaker, performer and poet, Pommereulle traversed the second half of the twentieth century driven by radical commitments, developing forms that test our vulnerability through the experience of violence and infinity.
Mobilised during the Algerian war in 1957, Pommereulle remained marked by this traumatic experience, which runs through his creations. In his early years, he was also influenced by the onirism of Odilon Redon, the Surrealists and Henri Michaux, with whom he shared a taste for hallucinogenic drugs. In 1966, identified as an objector by the critic Alain Jouffroy, who used this term to describe artists who claimed the heritage of Marcel Duchamp and political revolt, he exhibited a Peach in Bloom at the Salon de Mai at the Musée d'Art Moderne in Paris. His work displays an aesthetic of violence and cruelty, with hurtful objects and torture devices (Toboggan, 1974) that directly threaten visitors.
Known as an actor for his appearances in the films of the Nouvelle Vague, in Éric Rohmer's La Collectionneuse (1967) the artist presented his first Objet Hors Saisie, which he developed further with the Objets de Prémonition series (1975): overturned paint pots and lead sculptures, armed with knife blades and sharp objects. In the 1980s, Pommereulle travelled to Korea and Japan, marking a turning point in his work. His graphic and sculptural work, using glass, stone and steel, sought to channel cosmic energies. Until his death, according to Armance Léger, ‘transparency, air and emptiness were the new terms of his exploration’.
Curator: Fanny Schulmann, co
