Jean-Hubert Martin: Art Historian and Curator of Magiciens de la Terre

Artpress has published a new volume in its 'Les grands entretiens' series featuring Jean-Hubert Martin (born 1944), the art historian and museum curator who directed several European museums, including the Musée national d'art moderne – Centre Pompidou in Paris. Martin is best known for the landmark 1989 exhibition 'Magiciens de la Terre,' which advocated for museums to embrace non-Western cultures and artists outside the American-European sphere, as well as art brut. The interview explores his concept of dialogue between works and cultures, leading to a redefinition of primitivism and universalism, and an analogical rather than historical approach to visual art. Other exhibitions discussed include 'Partage d'exotismes' for the 5th Lyon Biennale in 2000, 'Une image peut en cacher une autre' in 2009, and 'Carambolages' in 2016. The book features a preface by Catherine Millet and interviews conducted by Paul Ardenne, Catherine Francblin, Catherine Millet, and Jean-Marc Poinsot. Martin states, 'I prefer works that force the institution to question itself.'