Past Exhibition 01.10.19 – 30.03.20
New presentation of the modern collection of the National Museum of Modern Art at the Centre Pompidou in Paris
In the new layout of its permanent collections of modern art, the French National Museum of Modern Art has been showing, since May, themed rooms dedicated to the major French galleries of the 20th century, from 1905 to 1970.
Room n° 33 explores the Galerie de France. From 1951 onwards, Gildo Caputo and Myriam Prévot regularly showed work by American and European painters, as well as the major figures of French gestural abstraction (Hans Hartung, Pierre Soulages, Zao Wou-Ki). It was a true institution; whose exhibitions were a big part of Parisian culture of the time.
18.10.59-15.02.60 (200 x 162 cm), painted by Zao Wou-Ki in 1959-1960, is exhibited on the main wall between two large compositions from 1956 by his friends Hans Hartung and Pierre Soulages. Work by other artists at the Galerie de France who were also friends of Zao Wou-Ki, are on show nearby: Pierre Tal Coat, Alfred Manessier and Zoran Music.
Shown at Zao Wou-Ki’s second personal exhibition at the Galerie de France in June-July 1960, the canvas was bought by the French State afterwards and given to the National Museum of Modern Art in 1961.
