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"A MODERN ADVENTURE" EXHIBITION

A major event in the 2009 Year of France in Brazil, the "A modern adventure" exhibition ("Uma aventura moderna"), bringing together the finest pieces from Renault’s art collection, will be held at the Oscar Niemeyer Museum in Curitiba from May to July 2009. The show will move on to the Museum of Contemporary Art, University of São Paulo from August to December 2009.

17 artists, 80 artworks collected  

This large exhibition of paintings, drawings and sculptures from the Renault collection tells the story of the fruitful collaboration between Renault and contemporary artists from 1965 to 1985, at a time when art and industry were evolving in two distinct and parallel universes.

 

Reflecting the main phases and great versatility of this rich period, the show is divided into four parts:

The world of industry 

This part of the exhibition contains works by Takis, Tinguely, Rauschenberg and Arman. Tinguely, who attained a pure poetic form through his whimsical, self-destructing machines, worked with Renault to satisfy his passion for Formula 1 racing by creating Pit-Stop. Arman, who saw Renault plants as “a palace where he could serve”, produced a large body of work consisting of “accumulations” of fragments of engines, body parts and tools he found in Renault workshops.

Dubuffet atmosphere 

Jean Dubuffet - "Château de vente souffle" (1971)
Seeking to give his painting an architectural dimension, Jean Dubuffet invaded Renault’s head office with the proliferating, chaotic graphics of his “Hourloupe” style, shaking up all visual landmarks and physical reflexes in what is by definition a highly organized environment. The show includes some of his most impressive work, such as Le Mur Bleu (1967-69) and Parade Nuptiale (1971).

Abstract painting 

This section contains work commissioned by Renault from Miro, Matta, Alechinsky and Michaux. Pierre Alechinsky worked with Renault for just one year but the collaboration was highly productive. The 1983 works Roue d’herbe and Escalator, depicting mechanical motion, were both created as part of this effort. Henri Michaux, commissioned by Renault in 1983, took great relish in producing eight small paintings, on show at the exhibition, that evoke mobility more than the automobile.   

Kinetic art 

Victor Vasarely - "Re-Na" (1974)
Julio Le Parc is one of the most active and engaged artists in kinetic art. Fascinated by new materials and their ability to play tricks on the retina, Le Parc decorated the restaurant at Renault's new head office in 1973 with an immense frieze made up of 47 paintings.

 

Another key figure in kinetic art is Victor Vasarely. In his search for an “internal geometry of nature”, he gained maximum effect from linear motifs and the opposition of black and white, emphasizing the lines separating his figures. The viewer’s eye loses itself in wave-like distortions, optical illusions and the visual instability of shape and color. Eight oil paintings demonstrating this approach are on show, including Yanina and Pokol.  

 

All of these works, made by artists from different countries and all of whom are famous today, testify to Renault’s spirit of innovation and openness.

 

Uma aventura moderna - Coleçāo de arte Renault - Ano da França no brasil

 

Oscar Niemeyer Museum

Salas Tarsila do Amaral e Guignard

Rua Marechal Hermes, 999

Curitiba, Brazil

 

Museum of Contemporary Art, University of São Paulo

MAC Bienal

Parc do Ibirapuera

São Paulo, Brazil