Pierre Moignard's 'Beach' Paintings Critique American Culture

Pierre Moignard presented recent paintings under the title 'Beach' at Centre culturel Jean Boucher in Cesson-Sévigné (8 Jan–7 Feb 2004) and then at Galerie Corinne Caminade in Paris (14 Feb–27 Mar 2004). The works depict large American beaches with exquisite, refined color, yet they are not American paintings. They feature local homeless people (called 'homeless' by the artist) in sleeping bags, gaudy bulldozers leaving caterpillar tracks, and decorated trash cans. Incongruous objects intrude: a colossal toppled statue of Lenin, an evocation of Las Vegas with a half-built Eiffel Tower, Statue of Liberty, pyramid, Mickey's hat, and a red sports car. Moignard cites Marc Desgrandchamps, placing micro-objects on large colored fields, but the scale rupture functions differently, with elements piloting the image's meaning. The exhibition marks a departure from his earlier period of nudes on black backgrounds. Philippe Ducat wrote the review.