The MAMAC’s blockbuster exhibit is the highlight of the prestigious 2018 “Le French May” festival in the Chinese mega-metropolis

In 2017, the French Riviera was abuzz with the brilliant “À propos de Nice, 1947 – 1977” exhibit, featuring highlights from the world-famous L’École de Nice. Now it’s Hong Kong’s turn to marvel when the show is presented in the annual “Le French May” event in Hong Kong, one of the largest cultural events in Asia. From May 5 to 27, 2018, the “School of Nice — From Pop Art to Happenings” exhibition, designed and presented by the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MAMAC) in Nice, documents one of the leading art movements of the 20th century and illustrates the city’s extraordinary contribution to the history of art in the 1960s–70s.

At the time, the artists featured in the exhibition were instantly identified as trailblazers, quickly becoming highly influential, and they were granted solo shows in major galleries in New York and Los Angeles. The MAMAC collection is quite unique in France, second only to the Centre Pompidou, which actually opened in 1977 in Paris with an exhibition featuring these very artists. This show revisits these key moments in the history of art and contributes to a new appreciation of post-war art in France.

The School(s) of Nice created its own version of Pop Art — even more radical and daring than in America. Artists in Nice pioneered the international Pop Art movement. Martial Raysse and Arman preceded Andy Warhol and James Rosenquist in their use of consumer goods and in their fascination with the entertainment industry, including mass tourism. The sculptures of César and the wooden panels of Gilli are among the most iconic images of French Pop Art.

Among the one hundred works on display are defining works, films, and documents from public and private collections and from artists’ studios, but also some of MAMAC’s most prized artifacts including works of Niki de Saint-Phalle, Yves Klein, Martial Raysse, and Arman. A new installation by Ben takes the viewer back to his famous shop-cum-showroom-cum-atelier in rue Tonduti de l’Escarène, a stone’s throw from MAMAC and at the time the epicentre of the Niçois artistic world.

Established in 1993, Le French May celebrates its Silver Jubilee in 2018 and is one of the largest cultural events in Asia. With more than 120 programmes presented across two months, it has become an iconic part of Hong Kong’s cultural scene that reach out to over 1 million visitors each year.

Bringing the very best of French arts and culture to the ultimate East-meets-West city, it showcases a diversity of disciplines, from heritage and contemporary arts, paintings and design, to classical music and hip-hop dance, cinema, circus, and fashion.

France and China have historically had friendly ties, and in recent years Nice has become a favorite destination for Chinese visitors and investors. This has promoted an increasingly stronger interest in Niçois cultural activities, from folkloristic music and theatre to the world famous carneval. No doubt that the participation of L’Ecole de Nice in “Le French May” is yet another milestone in the deepening bond between East and West.

École de Nice artists on display in Hong Kong

Marcel Alocco, Arman, Ben, Robert Bozzi, Louis Cane, César, Louis Chacallis, Max Charvolen, Albert Chubac, Daniel Dezeuze, Noël Dolla, Jean-Claude Farhi, Roland Flexner, Claude Gilli, Vivien Isnard, Yves Klein, Serge Maccaferri, Robert Malaval, Jean Mas, Martin Miguel, Jean-Pierre Mirouze, Nivèse, Bernard Pagès, Ernest Pignon-Ernest, Pierre Pinoncelli, Martial Raysse, Rotraut, Niki de Saint Phalle, Patrick Saytour, Serge III, Sacha Sosno, Bernar Venet, Claude Viallat (…).

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Photo credits:

Lead image by Diliff – Own work, CC BY 3.0, edited (cropped)

Martial Raysse, Nissa Bella, 1964
Collection Musée d’Art Moderne et d’Art Contemporain de Nice © Adagp, Paris,
Crédit photo : Muriel Anssens / Ville de Nice

Visuel Ben Magasin
Laboratoire 32 / Galerie Ben doute de tout / Magasin de Ben, 1958-1973
Nice, 32 rue Tonduti-de-l’Escarène
Photo : Studio Jean Ferrero
Nice, collection Ben
© Ben
© Adagp, Paris

Yves Klein.
Anthropométrie sans titre, (ANT 84), 1960
Et Pigment Pur, 1957
Collection Musée d’Art Moderne et d’Art Contemporain de Nice
Crédit photo : Muriel Anssens / Ville de Nice
© Succession Yves Klein/ADAGP, Paris, 2018