Blue, monochrome and surreal, the new exhibition of Stéphane Belzère create an interesting dialogue between two distinct collections
An intriguing personage, transform by his past...
Born in 1963, Stéphane Belzère had a long and normal childhood in Argenteuil, of a mother and a father, both of them artist: Suzanne Lopata and Jürg Kreienbühl. Just after his birth, he will leave with his grandparents in Basel (Switzerland) until the year of five.
Therefore, at the start of his life, he already had an influence between the French, Swiss and German culture, and it still is today. Therefore, he decided to move to Paris to study at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts, between 1985 and 1989. He will then do his military service in Berlin, where he will work and reside until 2013.
At the end of his studies in Paris, he will have the chance to visit the "soft pieces" room of the National Museum of Natural History of Paris to start his new project and new series around animals and jars. He will, 10 years later finish this piece, this masterpiece (Picture N°1), now in the collection of the Frac Ile-de-France (France).
Between those 10 years, and even nowadays, the canvas is still powered by the motif of the jar. Of course, it had many sizes, views, colors, but it still had the power and intriguing form of a motif, made between figuration and abstraction.
Dialogue(s) between the collection(s)
The French artist was invited by the curator and chief-director of the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art of Strasbourg (MAMCS), Estelle Pietrzyk. The artist accept it and gained the privilege to occupy a room on the first floor of the Museum. In this room, he will enter into a dialogue with the Zoological Museum of Strasbourg collection, which is now being renovated.
Thus, the Zoological Museum will bring together a number of jars containing mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fish or invertebrates. More of 200 of them will be installed next to 74 paintings of Stéphane Belzère.
Keys works and series of Belzère
The theme of the jars is, like I said a recurring theme and motif in Belzère oeuvre. For him, the jar is much more than a universal container, made generally with glass, which contain numerous things and objects. It's also the link between figuration and abstraction, motif and color, which transform the object inside the jar.
1. The shelves
When you enter the exhibition, you're welcome by a series of works which showcase the importance of the storage room in Belzère practice. You will have the chance to encounter two specifics series about "museum storage".
First, Immersion bleue 1 and Immersion bleue 2, which hang at both side of the first corridor of the show. Those two works, very large in scale (approximately 2x3m), focus on the view of the painter, into a storage room of the Museum of Natural History of Paris, from a jar, and not from the painter eyes.
Then, a series of 30 to 40 works, small and quite large canvas showcasing a focus view of the inside of the jars of the same room. Where the abstract forms reflect on the natural shapes of the specimens. Intriguing relation, right ?
Now, behind you, you encounter the only shelf of the show, which showcase more than 200 specimens of the Zoological Museum of Strasbourg. Made with wood, the structure is a mix between a bookshelf and a storage shelf of a museum. Therefore, the visitor feels like his a scientist or a searcher, looking for specimens he need to study.
2. Oval tables
This new series is much more narrow in terms of sizes. Instead of opting for an ultimate "wow" effect with a large scale painting, Belzère want the viewer to look up close into his oeuvre. Therefore, the group of works is installed in a cosmological composition, which reflect the aim of the work : escape the viewer from their perspective.
Therefore, the motif of the jars are embellished into thus oeuvre, with sensual forms, neutral, cold or warm colors. All of this to create small "landscapes". And you, what do you see in them ?
3. Long tables
All of then, titled "long paintings" showcase an up-close detail of a jar. Just at the juxtaposition of the specimen, the liquid and the jar, a strange optical illusion transform any shape into an abstract one. Therefore, this "landscape" are reminiscent of two influences : the panorama and the landscape of the Swiss painter Ferdinand Hodler.
4. Hands of Angels
Nothing is finish ? With this installation, Belzère work is evolving with the participation of the public (via a series of workshops). Therefore, the Mains des Anges installation is made with a set of small-formats jars, colored with glass plates and ornamented with a cast of someone's hand.
All of this, inspired by his own family, which in their own house collection numerous works of arts (sculpture, paintings, drawings, etc.). Most of them will englobe the religious theme and how it shapes his art. Therefore, those Hands of Angels will make links with the viewers and the art of Belzère.
Informations about the exhibition
Place: Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art of Strasbourg (MAMCS)
Date: 3.12.2021 – 27.8.2023
Curators: Estelle Pietrzyk
Ticket: Available at the front desk of the museum
Informations about the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art of Strasbourg (MAMCS)
Musée d'Art moderne et contemporain de Strasbourg
1, place Hans-Jean Arp
67000 Strasbourg
Phone: +33 (0)3 68 98 50 00