André Raffray's 'Image Thefts' at Galerie Beaubourg, Vence

Galerie Beaubourg in Vence presents an exhibition of André Raffray's work from April 14 to June 23, 2001. Raffray, born in 1925, is known for his 'image thefts'—meticulous reproductions of masterpieces by artists such as Gauguin, Seurat, Constable, Courbet, and Mondrian. His practice, which began after a 1975 visit to Marcel Duchamp at Blainville, involves re-photographing the exact locations of famous paintings and then re-painting them from projected slides. Notable series include 'Quatorze Paysages recommencés' (Fourteen Landscapes Redone), 'Diptyques' (starting 1984), and three large-scale 'vols d'images' (1988–1992) of Picasso's Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, Matisse's La Musique, and Duchamp's Nude Descending a Staircase, No. 2. Raffray's work has been exhibited at Centre Pompidou (1981), Musée des Arts Décoratifs (1988), Château d'Oiron (since 1992), and Mamco Geneva (1998). A retrospective was held at Kunsthalle Bonn (1999). In 2000, Robert Rosenblum selected him for Artforum's 'Best of 2000', praising his contributions to 'art about art'. Raffray's parents were photographers, and he worked at Gaumont, influencing his engagement with reproducibility. Critic Sylvie Coëllier connects his work to Giorgio Agamben's concept of 'experience', arguing that Raffray's paintings allow viewers to enter the artist's gaze, making the history of art tangible.