Three Exhibitions in Nice and Vence: Calzolari, Gasiorowski Circle, and Bigo

Key facts

• Pier Paolo Calzolari exhibition at Fondation Maeght, Vence, December 6, 2008 to March 22, 2009.
• Calzolari is an emblematic Arte Povera artist who describes himself as 'a bit crazy'.
• Fondation Maeght director Michel Enrici aims to reconnect with living artists through this show.
• Calzolari's works span from 'Rapsodie inepte' (1969) to 'Miroir de plomb' (1983) and recent pieces.
• The 'salle de la mairie' at Fondation Maeght features experimental recent works including 'Pioggia 2' (2006) and a large burnt wood screen from 1998.
• A new large black felt piece hangs like a painting but does not adhere to the wall, appearing as light as silk.
• Exhibition 'Le chemin de la peinture' at Mamac, Nice, December 6, 2008 to May 31, 2009.
• The title is borrowed from Gérard Gasiorowski's writings about his 1986 painting 'Stances'.
• Curated by Gilbert Perlein, the show features Valérie Favre, Denis Castellas, Stéphane Pencréac'h, and Alun Williams.
• Gasiorowski's late series 'Cérémonies' (1983-84) is included, with square gray paintings mixing figures from Laussel Venus to Egyptian Horus.
• Valérie Favre's works 'Mulholland Drive' (2007) and 'Peter Pan' (2007) show mythological figures overlooking Los Angeles.
• Denis Castellas's paintings feature emerging/disappearing figures through covering and erasure.
• Stéphane Pencréac'h's 'Atelier noir' (1994) depicts the artist in a studio before a black wall, suggesting dormant compositions.
• Alun Williams uses historical figures like Jules Verne and Garibaldi, collecting stains from places they visited to symbolize them.
• Véronique Bigo intervention at Musée des beaux-arts, Nice, November 13, 2008 to January 11, 2009.
• Bigo focuses on Marie Bashkirtseff (1858-1884), a Russian writer and painter who lived in Nice and died of tuberculosis at 26.
• Bigo's works include white-on-black drawings and raw canvases with flowers and handbags fading into smoke.
• A recurring motif is a colored line abruptly cut, symbolizing a broken life.
• Bashkirtseff wrote in her diary: 'One day my name will be heard throughout the Earth like thunder.'