Galerie le Rire bleu traces pop art's legacy from US to China in Figeac

Galerie le Rire bleu in Figeac, directed by Serge Rolland-Voirol, mounted a summer exhibition from July 20 to September 7, 2002, exploring a 'permanence of pop' over nearly forty years. The show juxtaposed works from American pop art, Nouveau Réalisme, Figuration Narrative, younger European artists, and contemporary Chinese creators. Curated with non-typical pieces, it featured Bernard Rancillac's 'Pyramide Bob Marley' (1983), Erro's realist portraits, Alain Jacquet's large woven donkey from 1966, and a boxed expansion by César and Martial Raysse referencing Manzoni's 'Artist's Shit' and Warhol's Campbell's Soups. A text by Bernard Dufour, hung beside his 1964 painting, recounted the scandal of his selection for the French pavilion at the Venice Biennale that year, contrasting with Robert Rauschenberg's arrival on Air Force One and his Biennale prize, marking US political-cultural ascendancy. The exhibition also highlighted dialogues across eras: Philippe Perrin's guns echoed Monory's bullet holes, Roberto Olivero's exuberant sculpture conversed with Robert Combas's recent works. Chinese artists included Wang Qingsong's McDonald's-style meditating figure and Chen Wenbo's strange portraits, previously seen at Galerie Loft in Paris.