PUBLICATIONS

This catalog is published on the occasion of the exhibition Bernard Buffet, autrement, organized at the Galerie Alexis Pentcheff in Marseille from July 6 to September 28, 2024.

A major artist of the 20th century, Bernard Buffet is one of the leading exponents of French figurative painting. A young painter acclaimed by the critics, Buffet's consecration was followed by a long period in the wilderness: for a long time, he was banished from the institutions of his native country, largely absent from cultural programming, while in Japan, a museum, inaugurated in the 1970s, was specially dedicated to him.

French and foreign collectors, on the other hand, have always been fascinated by Buffet's work, drawn by the power of his formal expression. On the bangs of the artistic establishment, Buffet's work has also spread far and wide through modern media, reaching all strata of society and leaving a lasting imprint on our collective memory.

In recent years, a new reading of his work has begun. Buffet is back in the limelight, and recent exhibitions present him in a favorable light, among those who paved the way for contemporary artists. For some, he is even considered a punk, seen as more subversive and provocative in his pursuit of the figurative gesture than the most militant of artistic agitators. Could this be one of the “missing links” in twentieth-century French art, one of those whom art history sometimes recognizes and enshrines in retrospect?

The challenge was to show Bernard Buffet “differently”, in our venue. We gave Nicolas Buffet, the artist's son, carte blanche and full confidence to take over the Pavillon de la Reine Jeanne, and tell a story that was close to his heart, among all those dictated by his memories and closeness to the painter.

Nicolas' tender and admiring view of his father's work is coupled with a free and demanding artistic vision, typical of the confirmed musician he has become.