Figure in Contemporary Art Explored at Fondation Émile Hugues

The exhibition 'Attention à la figure' at Château de Villeneuve / Fondation Émile Hugues in Vence, France, from June 25 to November 7, 2011, examines the representation of the human figure in Western art. Curated by Régis Durand and Zia Mirabdolbaghi, the show juxtaposes works by Jean Dubuffet and Robert Malaval from the early 1960s with contemporary pieces by Philippe Ramette and Natacha Lesueur. Dubuffet reintroduced an exacerbated figuration after his abstract textures of the 1950s, while Malaval's 'Aliment blanc' series suggested the figure through organic proliferation. Ramette's deadpan burlesque and Lesueur's photographs of bodies as inscription surfaces offer contemporary counterpoints. The exhibition highlights a fifty-year dialogue on figuration, transformation, and deconstruction.