El gesto y la materia: Abstract Expressionism in Paris and Beyond (1945-1965)

The Centre Pompidou Málaga presents 'El gesto y la materia. Abstracciones internacionales (1945-1965)', a temporary exhibition exploring the international development of Abstract Expressionism over two decades. Curated by Christian Briend and Anne Foucault, the show runs until September 7, 2026. After WWII, Paris briefly regained its status as the art world's center, sharing it with New York. Critic Michel Tapié coined the term 'art autre' in 1952 to describe artists rejecting figuration and geometric forms. Key figures include Jean Fautrier, Wols, Georges Mathieu, Jackson Pollock (who held his first European exhibition at Studio Facchetti in 1952), Joan Mitchell, Sam Francis, Pierre Soulages, André Marfaing, Gérard Schneider, Hans Hartung, Antonio Saura, Kazuo Shiraga (Gutai movement), Zao Wou-Ki, Jean Degottex, and Mark Tobey. The exhibition highlights the attraction of Paris for Japanese artists in the 1950s, the role of a network of galleries and critics in spreading gestural abstraction across Europe, and its use as resistance in Francoist Spain and communist Poland. The show ends with Michel Parmentier's work, bridging gestural abstraction and minimalism. The exhibition is organized in collaboration with Fundación 'la Caixa'.