Françoise Sullivan, avant-garde creator and pioneer of multidisciplinarity, celebrates her 100th anniversary with her exhibition at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts I let the rhythms flow.
A gentle first snow fell on Monday morning during the media tour for Françoise Sullivan’s new retrospective, which will be presented to the public from tomorrow, November 1st. Like a poetic allusion to her Dance in the Snow from 1947, an improvised dance solo that became one of the now centenarian dancer, sculptor and painter’s flagship works.
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New works
On the walls hang paintings created this year by the signatory of the global Refus manifesto, because this was the artist’s only requirement when the MMFA approached her: that her exhibition should consist primarily of works that grew out of her work are. current.
It must be said that, despite her venerable age (or perhaps because of it), Françoise Sullivan has created a lot in recent months in her studio, which she goes to almost every day.
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Her exhibition – the title of which is a quote from a text she wrote in the 1970s – consists of new large-format paintings, previously unpublished sculptures, pastels (rediscovered this year and shown for the first time) and works on display from the museum’s collection open to the public for the first time.
“I was deeply touched when Stéphane Aquinas [le directeur du MBAM] invited me because he was the curator of my last retrospective in 2003. I told myself: It wasn’t too difficult for him [rires]. I thank him from the bottom of my heart,” whispers Françoise Sullivan with a smile.
“She is a living national treasure, an actress in art history whose significance is extraordinary and deserves to be celebrated. Her way of still being active and relevant is incredible,” explains Stéphane Aquin.
Media preview of the Françoise Sullivan exhibition at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Monday October 30, 2023. IN THE PHOTO: Stéphane Aquin and Françoise Sullivan TOMA ICZKOVITS / AGENCE QMI TOMA ICZKOVITS
Concern about the environment
The great lady states that the environment and the climate crisis greatly inspired her in her latest creation; She sees it as both a gesture of hope and a way to express her concern for the state of the world. She remembers the “incredible summer we had” when a succession of rain, storms and clouds covered the sky.
“It was impossible for me not to think about what was happening in the world, what was happening everywhere and dangerously. What is happening is quite serious, we need to be aware of it and do what we can. “We cannot ignore it, it is a very serious problem,” says the woman who was concerned about the environment in her early days, especially through her performance “Walk Among the Oil Refineries” in 1973. Françoise Sullivan was very involved in assembling exhibition. She chose the titles of all her paintings inspired by “Flaubert’s most beautiful novels” and translated them into English.
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“For me, painting is the most important form in the visual arts. It seems to me that everything else flows from painting. I left her for a while, but she had to come back,” reveals the designer, who has a career spanning more than 80 years.
“I let the rhythms flow” is a tribute, a celebration and a celebration of the power of Françoise Sullivan’s art. “We wanted his very vigilant and creative 100th anniversary to be honored,” explains the director of the MMFA. Well, that’s nicely done.
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– The exhibition I let the rhythms flow by Françoise Sullivan will be presented at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts from 1um November 2023 to February 18, 2024. https://www.mbam.qc.ca/fr/expositions/francoise-sullivan/
– The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts is also offering a tribute to Françoise Sullivan on January 21 at Bourgie Hall. Six emblematic choreographies from his career will be presented there.
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