Bernard-Henri Lévy Curates 'Les aventures de la vérité' at Fondation Maeght

The exhibition 'Les aventures de la vérité' (The Adventures of Truth) explores the intersection of painting and philosophy at Fondation Maeght in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, running from June 29 to November 11, 2013. Curated by philosopher and writer Bernard-Henri Lévy, the show features works that engage with philosophical ideas. A highlight is the rediscovered painting 'La Datcha' (1969) by Gilles Aillaud, Francis Biras, Lucio Fanti, Fabio Rieti, and Eduardo Arroyo. The large oil-on-canvas (225 x 425 cm) had been missing since its 1969 debut at the Salon de la Jeune Peinture in Paris and subsequent 1970 exhibition 'La politique dans l'art' in Karlsruhe. Arroyo revealed the painting was in his possession, allowing its public return. Lévy's catalogue essay describes 'La Datcha' as a satirical charge against five prominent French intellectuals of the late 1960s: Louis Althusser, Claude Lévi-Strauss, Jacques Lacan, Michel Foucault, and Roland Barthes. The painting depicts them as disconnected from reality, with Althusser caught between Maoism and Communism, Lévi-Strauss as a grand seigneur, Lacan in a bow tie, Foucault stroking his head in futile meditation, and Barthes as a waiter serving petits-fours. Lévy interprets the work not as anti-intellectualism but as a furious critique of thought without risk. The exhibition includes a catalogue with essays and notes by Lévy.