Albert Ayme's Abstract Incisions at Musée Réattu

The Musée Réattu in Arles, France, presented a double exhibition of Albert Ayme from March 27 to June 10, 2007. The show spanned two pivotal periods: his 1962 'Reliefs soustractifs' and his later 'Triple Suite en jaune' homage to Van Gogh. Ayme abandoned figuration and traditional painting tools, using a scalpel to incise white or painted cardboard, creating layered monochromes that reveal temporal strata. The second part features three primary colors (with yellow doubled) on stretcherless canvases, inspired by Van Gogh's letter to Theo about achieving a 'high yellow note.' Curator Michèle Moutashar highlighted the dialogue between Ayme's abstract works and the Rhône river visible through the museum's Renaissance windows. The exhibition underscored Ayme's fusion of rigorous abstraction with organic vitality, akin to Scelsi's microtonal music.