Catalogues d'expositions monographiques

Bertrand Lavier

The tournesols affair

With regard to L’affaire tournesols, his exhibition at the Fondation Vincent van Gogh Arles, from 20 September 2014 to 17 May 2015, Bertrand Lavier smilingly admits to showing “the whole painted work”. This declaration is probably quite close to the truth because examples of the “painting” theme peculiar to his “construction sites”— as he calls them (“chantiers”) —will be on view. We discovered in particular mirrors painted with the “Van Gogh touch”, including a work in which is reflecting Vincent van Gogh’s original work, Self-Portrait with Pipe and Straw Hat, 1887, along with works making reference to recent art history, such as the “Colour Field Painting”, and to Frank Stella (one thinks of that work which he has now transposed in yellow neon).
The title of this show, L’affaire tournesols, seems like a double allusion, to Van Gogh, needless to say, but also to Tintin and his companion Professeur Tournesol, the eponymous character of the exhibition.  


Publisher: Fondation Vincent van Gogh Arles / Les presses du reel, under the direction of Bice Curiger, Artistic director and curator of the exhibition
Authors: Bice Curiger, Bernard Marcadé and Marjolaine Levy

Bilingual edition (French / English)
Hardcover, colour illustrations, 64 pages
Published in September 2014
ISBN: 978-2-84066-732-2

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