EVENT – The 2014 – 2015 sea­son at the Museum of Grenoble will fea­ture two major tem­po­rary exhi­bi­tions. The first one this coming win­ter will be dedi­ca­ted to Tourinese sculp­tor Giuseppe Penone, a major artist from the contem­po­rary scene. Then, in May 2015, the Museum will wel­come an exhi­bit entit­led “From Picasso to Warhol”.

The Museum takes the oppor­tu­nity to review a decade of acqui­si­tions, mostly orien­ted towards the artis­tic ple­thora of modern and contem­po­rary eras. Giuseppe Penone already pro­mises to be the main cultu­ral event of the win­ter sea­son in Grenoble.

The exhi­bi­tion will be held from Nov. 22^nd 2014 to Feb 22^nd 2015. An eclec­tic sculp­tor, the artist uses all forms of prime mate­rials : marble, bronze, gra­phite, as well as orga­nic mate­rial such as vege­tal spe­cies, silk and leather.

Penone sug­ges­ted to open the exhi­bi­tion with a piece entit­led “Propagazion” (2009). Around the print of his index fin­ger, the piece is a dra­wing of his skin in concen­tric circles, also evo­ca­ting tree rings or the waves floa­ting at the sur­face of the water. Thus, nature is a part of man­kind and man­kind can iden­tify with Her.

Penone never ceases to explore this dua­lity in his work. Also a refe­rence to the fin­ger print tech­nique he has used so often.

Senses awa­ken

Touch is a basic for this sen­si­tive explo­rer. Many of his sculp­tures arouse the senses and induce strong emo­tions connec­ted to the skin. The visitor’s eyes are invi­ted to become tac­tile. His work also appeals to other senses, such as the sense of smell facing a huge wall cove­red in tea leaves sup­por­ting a bronze sculp­ture, « Respirare l’ombra foglie di tè »(2008).

Respirare l’om­bra-foglie di tè, 2008 – © Musée de Grenoble

Ripetere il bosco, 1969 – 1997 – © Musée de Grenoble

Where man­kind seeks to exploit Nature to his pur­poses, Giuseppe Penone engages in the oppo­site direc­tion, drilling the beams to reco­ver the ori­gi­nal tree. This was the ins­pi­ra­tion behind his works cal­led « Ripetere il Bosco » (1969 – 1997). Nature remains untou­ched in all things and the exhi­bi­tion embraces all the artists’ favo­rite themes.

A dia­logue bet­ween nature and culture

The 60 pieces of art, whe­ther inti­mate or monu­men­tal, create a dia­logue bet­ween nature and culture. The walk of art offe­red in Grenoble will reveal the essence of the artist, the archeo­logy at the heart of vege­tal spe­cies, the breath, ques­tio­ning the flow of time and dis­cus­sing the various natu­ral rei­gns in which he fluctuates.

Veins are pum­ping in the marble, trees become bronze and a few branches form a man. Visual power and poe­try cha­rac­te­rize the art of Giuseppe Penone. Sketches and hand-writ­ten notes from the artist will also shine a light on the gene­sis of his art. This rich and ela­bo­ra­ted exhi­bi­tion is worth dis­co­ve­ring this coming winter.

From Picasso to Warhol

Another high­light this sea­son will be an exhi­bi­tion entit­led “From Picasso to Warhol”, from May 7^th to August 31^st 2015. Those great names per­so­nify moder­nity but fail to reflect the time range cove­red by a decade of acqui­si­tions for the Museum’s collection.

Picasso, Verre, 1914 © Picasso Heritage

The pur­pose of the exhi­bi­tion, “to review a decade of acti­vity and present the resi­dents of Grenoble with an over­view of what was achie­ved with their money” explains Guy Tosatto, Director of the Museum of Grenoble. The lar­ger part of the acqui­si­tions was indeed finan­ced by public funds.

Always thought­fully nego­tia­ted and whe­ne­ver pos­sible, directly with the artists for amounts up to 50% chea­per than the mar­ket price, accor­ding to the Director. The Museum also relies on pri­vate dona­tions and since 2010, bene­fits from busi­ness sponsorships.

“The exhi­bi­tion is desi­gned to be broad” adds Guy Tosatto, in order to reveal the wealth and diver­sity of this recent col­lec­tion. The pieces fill his­to­ri­cal gaps, tes­tify to an era and lay out the recent his­tory of painting.

Staying ahead of the game

Andy Warhol, Jackie, 1964 – © The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. / Adagp, Paris 2014

A few older pieces were natu­rally acqui­red these past years and audiences will be able to enjoy them as well during the exhi­bi­tion, but mainly modern and contem­po­rary art. “The Museum of Grenoble wishes to remain ahead of the game and fol­low the foot steps of Andry – Farcy from 1920, recalls Guy Tosatto.

Great names of the 20^th cen­tury and new pieces were recently added to the Museum’s col­lec­tion : Van Dongen, Gaston Chaissac, Arman, Jacques Villege, Jeff Wall, Giuseppe Penone, Sigmar Polke or Philippe Cognée. The unde­niable two focal points of the exhi­bi­tion will be Verre (1914) by Picasso, a rare cubist col­lage acqui­red thanks to busi­ness spon­sor­ship in 2013 and worth 750 000 euros.

Also fea­tu­red, Jackie by Warhol and her inef­fable smile, a pain­ting acqui­red in 2004. One could also men­tion the impres­sive sculp­ture by Arman, Allegro con Brio (1977) the 6 feet 5 mas­ter­piece pur­cha­sed by the Museum in 2009. And so much more…

By Veronique Magnin

Translation by Cecile Boussier

TIP

For the past 10 years, the Museum of Grenoble has been orga­ni­zing out­side exhi­bi­tions, held in cho­sen neigh­bo­rhoods to meet a less infor­med public. In 2015, it will be back in Villeneuve and hos­ted in a space dedi­ca­ted to chil­dren of the Arlequin library. The selec­ted works of art will natu­rally deal around the theme of won­der­land. To dis­co­ver the rich pro­gram­ming of Museum’s acti­vi­ties throu­ghout the sea­son, all audiences inclu­ded (chil­dren, adults, stu­dents, people with hea­ring and visual disa­bi­li­ties), please check the Museum’s webpage.

A hip ins­ti­tu­tion, the Museum also tweets and is crea­tive on Facebook. Check out their new page cal­led “Students, dare to expe­rience the Museum of Grenoble”. One of the latest news­feed announces the ope­ning of the student’s sea­son and an inau­gu­ral party, to be held on October 15^th.