The first retrospective in France dedicated to Pierrette Bloch (1928-2017) offers an opportunity to explore 70 years of a singular artistic journey. It also aims to reposition the artist at the heart of the debates surrounding painting and its deconstruction in the 1960s, within an art scene that often confined her to drawing—then considered a minor art—or to textile works, implicitly associated with feminine practice. Yet, her work stands out for its persistence and boldness, and her relentless pursuit of creative protocols resonates with many movements that contribute to the museum’s renown.
Seven rooms reveal the full scope of Pierrette Bloch’s work and showcase the spirit of research and seriality of an artist who invented how to repeat without repeating herself, as if she was driven by a fertile paradox. After an initial section dedicated to her early explorations, the exhibition is structured around five major themes. First, her collages and marouflages from the late 1960s and early 1970s, where she gradually abandoned color and her connection to painting. Then, her alignments of ink spots on paper, which occupied her for nearly thirty years and often define her in the public eye. In parallel, she developed her series of “textile” meshes or threads, another hallmark of her work. Next come her fascinating and hypnotic “writings”, that culminate in inks on very long strips of paper. Her final period, that of a hard-won freedom, both introduces new supports and creative protocols and sees the resurfacing of the past. A terminal room brings together works from her personal collection and pieces from the MAMC+, revealing the connections she forged with contemporaries whose artistic investigations paralleled her own.
With works from French public institutions, European private collections, and the major holdings of the artist’s studio, the exhibition offers a unique opportunity to discover a hundred previously unseen pieces.
Aurélie Voltz
Director of the MAMC+
David Quéré
Physicist and professor at the École Polytechnique. Founder of the Pierrette Bloch endowment fund, and a friend and
beneficiary of the artist.
Informations complémentaires
Téléchargez le guide de visite de Pierrette Bloch (1928-2017) - La peinture par d'autres moyens (format : pdf ; poids : 448 Ko).
