Any other business

In May, I went to the Louvre Lens to see an exhibition called Par-delà les Mille et Une Nuits. Histoires des orientalismes . I was interested in the subject-matter, but in the event was disappointed by the show, which is why I didn't make a whole post about it. As with  the V&A's Epic Iran , perhaps, the organisers had bitten off more than could easily be chewed in a single event. Par-delà les Mille et Une Nuits of course displayed numerous exciting artefacts, including some truly magnificent Kashan carpets from the 16th century. But as it could only skim the surface of each iteration of orientalism (or orientalisms, plural, as the curators would have it), came over rather as Orientalism for Dummies , supposing such a book should ever be published, or, at any rate, to seem less unkind, orientalism for beginners. Numerous school parties were indeed there. I was drawn to Lens (two hours north of Paris by car) in particular by a new painting, commissioned by the Louvre for th...

I've already posted a short article about David Caille, but as today is the tenth anniversary of his death, I thought I'd make a longer post, even if it repeats some of the former one, and add more photos. David was an immensely talented young painter, but at 27 he took his own life: a tragedy for him and his family, of course, but also a great loss to art. He'd studied in Düsseldorf with Peter Doig, who on learning of his death wrote: ' I loved David's work and really really liked him as a person - as a fellow artist and as a student. He first came to visit me in Düsseldorf from Lyon with his portfolio, and showed me his work. He asked if he could join my class and he said he felt he was marginalised making paintings in Lyon. I was immediately attracted to his painted language and the imagery that he worked with. I enjoyed having him in my class, as did all the students who worked there during this time. He was a very popular and respected student and even years af...

To set the ball rolling, here's quite a long quotation from the English-language version of the leaflet handed out at the entrance to Immortelle , a big new exhibition at MO.CO. in Montpellier,  subtitled 'Vitality of young French figurative painting': I might as well get it down on paper straight off, so as to avoid any misunderstandings: Immortelle (Immortal) is a combat exhibition.  The point is to affirm a simple truth in all its ramifications: painting is immortal. So it’s just as pointless to rejoice about its return, or to regret it, as it would be to ramble on about the death of literature or music. This assertion is accompanied by solidly grounded convictions. No, the ‘Retinal painting’ reviled by Marcel Duchamp has never stopped producing masterpieces. No, figurative painting is not reactionary and backward-looking. No, France is not a country outside of history – the history that Germany, the United States and the emerging countries have never left behind – wher...