Per Kirkeby's Fram-Inspired Paintings at Galerie de France / Michael Werner

In September 2007, Galerie de France in Paris hosted an exhibition of new works by Danish artist Per Kirkeby, presented by Cologne and New York gallerist Michael Werner, who temporarily occupied the space. The show followed a series of high-profile exhibitions by Werner, including Markus Lüpertz's figures of backs, Marcel Broodthaers' installation Décor, Jörg Immendorff's late works, and Georg Baselitz's early 1960s drawings and paintings tied to the Pandemonic Manifesto. Kirkeby's paintings (2005–06) take as their starting point Fram, a 1982 work of his own, which was loosely inspired by a 17th-century still life by Dutch painter Willem Claesz Heda, Caspar David Friedrich's jagged ice floes, and the tales of Norwegian polar explorer Fridtjof Nansen, whose ship was named Fram (Norwegian for "forward"). Many of the exhibited paintings reference the ship's name and feature the motif of a tipped glass and chalice from Heda's still life. Kirkeby engages with art history—echoing Cézanne's approach and Baselitz's tilted horizon—without direct quotation, digesting influences into his own style. He manipulates paint, applies bold blues and violets for tablecloth drapery, and explores pictorial problems through still life, offering a masterclass in painting. The exhibition ran until October 6, 2007, and was followed by a James Lee Byars show in October and November. Siegfried Gohr contributed a catalogue essay.