Exhibition in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence Revives Overlooked French Painter Roger Edgar Gillet

A significant exhibition at the Musée Estrine in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, titled 'Roger Edgar Gillet. La grande dérision,' is showcasing the work of a largely forgotten French painter. Curated by Elisa Farran, the museum's director, the presentation features approximately fifty works and represents two decades of research. It traces Gillet's artistic evolution from abstraction to figuration. The exhibition draws from public collections, including the Musée national d'Art moderne and the Musée d'Art moderne de Paris, with support from the artist's family, notably Marion Gillet. After its run in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence until June 7, 2026, the show will travel to the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Rennes from June 27 to September 20, 2026. Roger Edgar Gillet was associated with French gestural abstraction in the 1950s, moving in circles with artists like Pierre Alechinsky and Jean Messagier. He transitioned to figurative work in the early 1960s. His career included winning the Prix Fénéon in 1954, travels to the United States, and representation by dealer Jean Pollak, which led to acquisitions by French museums and international private collections. Notable commissions included 'Le Grand Orchestre' for SACEM. The exhibition highlights his early abstract works, characterized by gestural, nervous lines and somber colors, which were included in shows on Art Informel by critic Michel Tapié. While his work recalled the CoBrA group, Gillet maintained he was not a member. His later figurative period, influenced by artists like El Greco, featured dramatic, often grotesque reinterpretations of historical and religious themes, such as a 1963 version of 'La Cène' (The Last Supper) with skulls. His work from the 1960s and 1970s engaged critically with traditional genres, including history painting and the nude, and incorporated imagery from advertising and television. The exhibition also presents powerful portrait series from his later career, created before he stopped painting in 1998 due to encroaching blindness. The show aims to reassess Gillet's distinctive contribution to post-war French art.