GRAFFITI X GEORGES MATHIEU: Gesture, Speed, Movement

At La Monnaie de Paris, graffiti dialogues with Georges Mathieu

Echoing the monographic exhibition devoted to Georges Mathieu in the historic salons of La Monnaie de Paris, an original group show highlights the resonances between the work of the pioneer of lyrical abstraction and urban art practices. Entitled [exhibition title to be inserted], this site-specific installation takes over the Méridienne galleries, where six artists from different generations of graffiti – JonOne, Lek & Sowat, Nassyo, Camille Gendron and Matt Zerfa – have been invited to engage in a free dialogue with Mathieu’s drawings, which they have chosen themselves.

Jointly curated by Éric de Chassey, already responsible for the main exhibition, and the artist duo Lek & Sowat, this initiative highlights the aesthetic and gestural links between Mathieu’s painting and graffiti: rapid gestures, large formats, public performances and “signature signs” are all points of contact that have fascinated the urban scene since the 1980s, at a time when contemporary art was moving away from Mathieu’s work.

To open the show, a number of historic works recall this unexpected filiation: two emblematic canvases by New York pioneer Futura, and a video by Nug, set the scene for this cross-generational and cross-disciplinary dialogue.