Publication LE GESTE ET LA MATIÈRE, UNE ABSTRACTION “AUTRE”, PARIS 1945-1965

Known, since that era, by turns as “informal”, “lyrical”, “tachist”, “gestural” or “matterist”, this abstraction, which cannot be defined by one homogenous movement, translates the artists’ desire to “start from scratch” after the dark years of the war. Beyond the diversity of artistic propositions, this form of painting, which puts both realism and rationalism on trial, is characterised by an instinctive practice and a direct connection with the material. In the 1950s, this “other art” had a wide audience in France and abroad, mainly due to the work of enlightened critics and enterprising gallerists who emerged from the ferment of Liberation-era Paris.