Artists

Yves Klein, Niki de Saint Phalle, Martial Raysse, Keith Haring

Press release

Thanks to an unprecedented partnership between two major collections in the Côte d'Azur region, works by Niki de Saint Phalle, Arman, Yves Klein, Raymond Hains, Martial Raysse and César come face to face with the plastic innovations of Fernand Léger, one of the pioneers of the 20th-century avant-garde. Alongside these principal representatives of New Realism, works by artists such as Roy Lichtenstein or later Keith Haring, illustrate the artistic exchanges that very early on existed between European creation and the American scene.

The exhibition, featuring nearly 100 works, takes a playful and creative approach to various themes: the misappropriation of the object, the representation of the body and leisure, and the place of art in the public space. Through powerful artistic gestures, the artists elevate elements captured in their most mundane reality to the status of works of art. They merge art and life, revealing to the viewer the poetic beauty of our everyday lives. The artists' powerful artistic gestures elevate elements captured in their most mundane reality to the status of works of art. Exhibition organized by the GrandPalaisRmn, in partnership with the Musées nationaux du XXe siècle des Alpes-Maritimes and the Musée d'Art Moderne et d'Art Contemporain de Nice (MAMAC). The exhibition was presented at the Musée National Fernand Léger, Biot, under the title Léger et les Nouveaux Réalismes from May 15, 2024 to February 16, 2025. 

COMMISSARIAT GÉNÉRAL

Anne Dopffer, Director of the Musée National du XXe Siècle des Alpes-Maritimes

COMMISSARIAT

Julie Guttierez, Chief Curator at the Fernand Léger National Museum

Rébecca François, Curatorial Attaché at the MAMAC