press release - Musée des Beaux

National Centre for Contemporary Arts (NCCA)
(Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod)
Moscow Museum of Modern Art (MMOMA)
Nizhny Novgorod State Museum of Art
The city of Nantes, Musée des Beaux-Arts, Nantes
With the support of:
The Embassy of France in the Russian Federation,
Alliance Française in Nizhny Novgorod,
Nizhny Novgorod City Administration,
Novoe Iskusstvo Foundation
PORTRAIT/LANDSCAPE: GENRE BOUNDARIES
From the collection of the Musée des Beaux-Arts (Museum of Fine Arts), Nantes, France
Exhibition
June 2 — August 5 — Nizhny Novgorod
August 24 — October 21 — Moscow
Project directors: Blandine Chavannes, Mikhail Mindlin
Curators: Anna Gor, Mikhail Mindlin, Irina Gorlova, Elena Belova, Adeline Collange, Alice Fleury,
curators of the classical and modern art collections of the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Nantes.
A presentation of works by:
Portrait: Marina Abramovich, Vito Acconci, John Baldessari, Joseph-Marie Vien, Douglas Gordon,
Jean-Batiste Greuze, Claude-Marie Dubufe, Ange Leccia, James Reilly, Yvonne Rainer, Marcial Reis,
Sophy Rickett, Gerhard Richter, Claude Ryuto, Jana Sterbak, Tintoretto, Rosemarie Trockel, Luc
Tuymans, Robert Filho, Eva Hesse, Craigie Horsfield,
Landscape: Alighiero Boetti, Jean-Jacques de Boissieu, Gilbert and George, David Goldblatt, Tony
Grant, Joan Jonas, Isaac Julien, Blaise Drummond, Raoul Dufy, Fabrice Hybert, Jean Claerbout,
David Claerbout, Paul Madlin, Joan Mitchell, Jean-Luc Moulene, Tanya Muro, Anri Sala, Herman van
Swanevelt, Paul Sérusier, Gérard Titus-Carmel, Öyvind Fahlström, Eric Fontenot, Efrat Shvily, Pierre
Huyghe
Exhibition in Nizhny Novgorod:
Place: Arsenal, Volga Region Branch of NCCA, Nizhny Novgorod State Museum of Art
Addresses: 3 Verkhnevolzhskaya Embankment, Arsenal, Kremlin, Building 6
Exhibition dates: June 2 — August 5
Exhibition in Moscow
Place: National Centre for Contemporary Arts, Moscow Museum of Modern Art
Addresses: 13 Zoologicheskaya Str., Bldg. 2; 25 Petrovka Str., Bldg. 1
Exhibition opening Thursday, August 23, 19.00
Exhibition dates: August 24 — October 21
The exhibition gives viewers a unique opportunity to follow the transformation of portrait and landscape
art from the 16th century to the modern age through works from the magnificent collection of the Musée
des Beaux-Arts (Museum of Fine Arts) in Nantes, France.
The Museum’s history began in September 1801 when the government issued a decree authorizing
the creation of 15 museums in a number of French cities. The “Chaptal Decree” delivered “treasures
won from the enemies of the Republic” to these museums. Since 1838 the museum has adhered to
the policy defined by a decision of the City Council, which was above all to acquire works by modern
masters (of the respective periods). For example, the Museum’s collection includes more than 2,000
works created from 1950 to 2010.
The goal of the exhibition is to show the transformation that traditional genres like portrait and
landscape art have undergone by discovering their “traces” in the art of the latter third of the 20th
century and the early 21st century. Both works of classical art and works of the first half of the 20th
century that shattered the entrenched conceptual and compositional formulas of portrait and landscape
art were chosen as starting points and reference models.
The exhibition consists of two independent shows that at the same time are inseparable from one
another. The history of the portrait genre began with works of the 16th century, while that of the
landscape genre began with the classical landscapes of the 17th century.
Works of old masters include portraits by Tintoretto and Jean-Baptiste Greuze, and landscapes by
Jean-Jacques de Boissieu, Herman van Swanevelt, Paul Sérusier, Raoul Dufy, and others. The
exhibits consists mainly of paintings, graphic art, photographs and video installations of contemporary
artists, including Vito Acconci, Marina Abramovich, Gerhard Richter, Marcial Reis, Gilbert and George,
John Baldessari, Douglas Gordon, Fabrice Hybert, Rosemarie Trockel, Pierre Huyghe, and Anri Sala,
among others.
Additional information:
[email protected], [email protected] - Moscow
[email protected] - Nizhny Novgorod