JEAN PIERRE RAYNAUD
GUERNICA UKRAINE
February 24 to April 24, 2023 Curator: Yann Toma Opening February 24, 2023 Sorbonne Artgallery is pleased to present the opening of GUERNICA UKRAINE by Jean Pierre Raynaud, on view from February 24 to April 24, 2023.
"Painting is an instrument of offensive and defensive warfare against the enemy. Pablo Picasso Sorbonne Artgallery (Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne), and Éditions Jannink, intend to make their mark by hosting a major work of art in the Cour d'Honneur of the Centre Panthéon with the unveiling of an unpublished work, a modern version of Picasso's Guernica, which artist Jean Pierre Raynaud will present to H.E. the Ukrainian Ambassador on Friday February 24, 2023. In support of the war effort, French conceptual artist Jean Pierre Raynaud has responded to a proposal from Jannink Editions to donate to the Ukrainian people a never-before-seen work, a modern counterpart to Picasso's Guernica. The piece will be unveiled at the Sorbonne on February 24, 2023, and then exhibited in the museum chosen by the Ukrainian authorities on the day itself. Nearly a year after the start of the Russian invasion, Jean Pierre Raynaud, Jannink Editions, Sorbonne Artgallery and all those who support them, intend to join the coalition of artists echoing this conflict around the world. Art, more than anything else, can encourage the uprising of a collective power and the refusal of all resignation. This initiative echoes President Volodymyr Zelensky's appeal, made at the Venice Biennale in April 2022, in which he urged European and international cultural and artistic players to support Ukraine.
The unveiling of this original work will take place on February 24, 2023 in the courtyard of the Centre Panthéon of the Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, a temple of knowledge and European youth, in the presence of H.E. Ambassador Vadym Omelchenko, Christine Neau-Leduc, President of the Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, and the artist himself. Guernica, painted in 1937, is the universal symbol of art's denunciation of the horrors of war. With this canvas, over seven meters long, Picasso not only paid vibrant tribute to the victims, but above all made the whole world witness to Nazi exactions. Today, Jean Pierre Raynaud has taken the exact dimensions (3.49 m x 7.76 m) of this emblematic canvas and created a modern version based on his own aesthetic codes. Closely associated with the French Nouveau Réalisme movement, Jean Pierre Raynaud is perfectly in tune with the approach initiated by Picasso almost a century earlier. Icy and distant, his work reveals the absurdities of our relationship with the world, presenting drama with an almost surgical distancing. Nothing is expressed, everything is shown.
Jean-Pierre Raynaud, a renowned French contemporary artist, is widely acclaimed for his contribution to sculpture, painting and installation art. His signature work, "Le Carré blanc sur fond blanc", is distinguished by the captivating simplicity of its white cubes, which transcend form to evoke purity and the exploration of conceptual emptiness. Raynaud cultivates an abiding fascination with the color white, a symbol of neutrality and universality. His architectural creations, particularly "La Maison", are milestones in conceptual art. Rooted in conceptualism and minimalism, his work deconstructs traditional artistic conventions in favor of conceptual reflection. Raynaud's performances and artistic events add an immersive dimension to his repertoire. His impact on contemporary art, both in France and abroad, lies in his ability to question and reinvent the foundations of art across the decades.
This initiative benefits from the kind permission of Picasso administration and the support of : Christine Neau-Leduc Yann Toma Cécile Debray La Reina Sofia Institut Ramon Llull - Paris H.E. Michal Fleischmann Mathieu Fournet Philippe Chancel Les sociétés Metropole, Marin Beaux-Arts, Graphius, Fedrigoni, a.p.r.e.s production et Frédéric Claudel Photogravure Les éditions Jannink
president of Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne in charge of Sorbonne Artgallery/CVEC president of Musée Picasso ambassador to the Czech Republic adviser in charge of European and international affairs at the French Ministry of Culture
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