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February 26 – May 9
The Empty Space:
Jean Miotte in the 70's
“Arising from inner conflicts, my painting is
a projection, a succession of acute and intense moments realized in
full spiritual tension. Painting
is not a speculation of the mind or the intellect, it is a gesture which
comes from within.”
"Le partage", 1975
Acrylic on canvas, 45x35 in., 116x89 cm
Born in 1926, Jean Miotte began exhibiting in
1952 and continues to this day. As one of the important protagonists of Art Informel, his work
is inspired by the desire
of the postwar generation to create a universal human language in art,
a path to peace after the horrors of war. His universality is reflected
in international success: Miotte is represented in major museums in
the U.S., Europe, and Asia, and in 1980 he was the first Western painter
invited to exhibit in post-Mao Beijing.
Miotte’s seminal influences
include Jazz but especially dance. In London in 1948 he did set design
and saw the work of Balanchine, the
Diaghilev Ballet, and the Grand Ballet du Marquis de Cuevas. Gestural painting can evoke the
hand of the Samurai or the surgeon, but Miotte’s lithe, inventive
line echoes the living art of dance. When painting, he becomes a Zen
archer, choreographing each stroke before the act. His canvas is a stage
where paint leaps, where drips refuse gravity.
Miotte experiments in media
ranging from oil and acrylic to gouache, ink, etching, lithography,
and collage. Black paint on a white or raw
surface is a nearly constant theme which recalls calligraphy; when
color appears, it ranges from primaries to earthy tones. Critics say
he is
unique among the Informels because he continues to grow, fighting repetition,
questioning himself and his form of expression. In the 1990s he began
producing the canvases currently on display, the largest of his career.
The Miotte Foundation, housed in the Chelsea Art Museum,
preserves the oeuvre of Jean Miotte and fosters research into the Informel
movement.
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556 West 22nd Street, New York, NY 10011
tel 212.255.0719 e-mail contact@chelseaartmuseum.org
fax 212.255.2368
open Tuesday through Saturday 11am to 6pm
Thursday 11am to 8pm
closed Sunday and Monday
$8 adults, $4 students and seniors, free for members and visitors
16 and under
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