Sexe, sexe, etc. at Galerie Beaubourg: Sex as Transgression in Contemporary Art

The exhibition 'Sexe, sexe, etc.' at Galerie Beaubourg in Vence, France, from July 5 to October 31, 2003, explores whether art can still represent sex as a space of transgression in an era dominated by the sex industry and the appropriation of pornography by cinema and literature. Curated by Catherine Macchi de Vilhena, the show juxtaposes historical works by Matta, Bellmer, Klein, Spoerri, and Warhol with contemporary pieces by Stéphane Pencréac'h, Vincent Corpet, and Fabrice Hybert. Notable highlights include Hybert's swing with two protrusions and Spoerri's phallic trap tableau featuring a postcard titled 'Saluti da Onano'. Other curiosities include Fabien's small erotic mechanism suspended on Irène Jacob's lips, Michel Gouéry's kitsch ceramics, Tetsumi Kudo's cages, and Pierre Bettencourt's primitive body representations. The main hall of Château Notre-Dame des fleurs presents David Salle's panoramic reinterpretation of Courbet's 'Origin of the World', referencing Picabia and Monory. Ida Tursic and Wilfried Mille contribute two powerful paintings where pornographic iconography confronts the pictorial and cinematic, with painterly effects overlaying disincarnate backgrounds. Béatrice Cussol's visceral drawings boldly compare to Bellmer and Klossowski. The exhibition also features erotic manuals in vitrines, giving it the feel of a cabinet of curiosities.