For the first time, the works of Matisse are presented to the Chinese public. The exhibition Matisse by Matisse opened its doors this weekend at the UCCA Contemporary Art Center in Beijing. An event in partnership with the Matisse departmental museum of Cateau-Cambrésis in the north of France, postponed several times due to closed Chinese borders and the war in Ukraine.
From our correspondent in Beijing,
These are perhaps the prayers of the chapel of the rosary in Vence created by Henri Matisse, added to the efforts of everyone put together, in Beijing as well as in Cateau-Cambrésis from where all the works of this first exhibition devoted to the inventor of Fauvism, who allowed the event to take place.
” It’s a small miracle for which we worked hard during the whole Covid period. », explains Victoria Jonathan, co-founder of the Doors cultural agency in Beijing. “ This is a project that we initiated four years ago following the Picasso exhibition organized at the UCCA already at the time. The Matisse exhibition was supposed to take place 18 months ago, but due to the international context, the closure of China, the fact that the conveyors could not accompany works of inestimable value, we had to postpone several times the exhibition. »
Victoria Jonathan continues: “There, we are really very happy, because it is one of the first post “zero Covid” exhibitions in China, a period during which China was closed, during which what was called Western influence been denigrated. As the country reopens, as exhibitions like this can be held, we feel a real thirst to discover the works of Western artists in China. “, she underlines.
Also to listenHenri Matisse as a novel
” We don’t often have the opportunity to see such power in the singularity of the line and the colors »
Proof of this appetite, for several weeks now, online ticket sales have been working quite well. Exhibitions by Western artists have been lacking in China in recent years, explains Maurice, who still remembers the Impressionist exhibition he saw at the National Art Museum in the 2000s.
“ There were a lot of people “, says this young gallery owner who studied at the fine arts of Lyon and who chose a French first name. “ We were so happy to discover Monet, Manet and the others. It’s the same today for Matisse. We don’t often have the opportunity to see such power in the singularity of the line and the colors. Chinese art in museums in Beijing is very much ink, black and white. To discover contemporary artists, there are small galleries. But it would be good if there were more exchanges between major Chinese and foreign museums. »
A simplicity in the works of Matisse appreciated
Paintings, textiles, sculptures… Nearly 280 masterpieces from the Matisse departmental museum in Cateau-Cambrésis exhibited on a set of 2 000 square meters make it possible to follow the footsteps of the artist and the evolution of his work. “I appreciate his quest for simplicity. He is a creator who knew how to renew itself during a very turbulent time says an engineer specializing in data processing, capturing the drawings of Matisse’s faces on his phone.
” The simplicity of the line brings the personality of its models back to life “says Xinka. ” For me, he is a seeker of pleasures who in his works highlights the joys of everyday life. I like the colors, but especially the shapes at Matisse », continues this milliner crossed in the space of the exhibition devoted to work around the textile. Ten sections retrace the painter’s life, the eleventh evokes his influence on the Chinese artistic scene.
” Matisse’s influence begins in the 1920s “, noted Huang Jiehua, deputy director of UCCA’s publication and research department. The expressiveness of line and color greatly impresses Chinese artists. At that time, oil painting is translated as Western painting. »
A lasting interest in Matisse
The May 4 movement of “cultural renewal”, oil painting brought back from the West by Liu Haisu from the Shanghai school, very impressed by Matisse during his stay in France. “ Oil painting, once introduced in China, will follow two currents. A modern current and a current, let’s say, classic. Matisse was considered a leader of the moderns. Many Chinese are interested in him “, remember Dong Qiang, professor of French literature at Beida University.
An interest that persists among young artists, particularly with regard to the cut-outs and the creative process perceived as a work of art, like the scenography of the exhibition for that matter. Matisse wanted the works to be presented on white backgrounds, but the designers of the exhibition still wanted to add bands of color…à la Matisse. How did they do it? They cut the ceiling.
” We took the option of saying: “we are going to work a bit like Matisse” “, explain Pascal Rodriguez, designer. ” That is to say if he had had a large sheet of paper. And we had fun – since the exhibition is covered by a ceiling – we cut out shapes in each room that could have been cut out by Matisse. »
Destination Shanghai
“I was granted great freedom, what I was able to do here, I could not have done in France where Matisse and Picasso are totems”, rejoices Pascal Rodriguez again. In addition to this freedom and the enthusiasm of the first visitors, the exhibition benefits from the support of many sponsors, including a Chinese manufacturer of electric vehicles -Nio and Matisse, after Citroën and Picasso- and probably a lucky star.
For the inauguration on Thursday, some crossed their fingers so that Matisse’s nudes do not offend the censorship. It went without a hitch. After Beijing, Matisse by Matisse will therefore be able to travel to Shanghai on November 3, the anniversary of the painter’s death, and until February 18, 2024. The exhibition is promoted by the cultural service of the French Embassy in China as a symbol of the renewal of France-China relations which will celebrate their 60th anniversary next year.