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Preparatory sketches for stage curtains<\/p>\n
For the first time with la peinture en sc\u00e8ne<\/i>, the works of Olivier Debr\u00e9 are presented not in the white gallery as visitors to the art centre have become accustomed, but in the black gallery\u2014a space that more directly evokes the theatrical atmosphere inherent in the stage curtain.<\/p>\n
The exhibition\u2019s layout is structured around four axes representing the four stage curtains created by the artist: the Com\u00e9die-Fran\u00e7aise theatre (Paris, 1987), the Hong Kong Opera (1989), the Th\u00e9\u00e2tre des Abbesses (Paris, 1996), and the Shanghai Opera (1998).<\/p>\n
For obvious reasons, the CCC OD will not show the actual stage curtains but will focus on the \u201cmaquettes\u201d or \u201cesquisses\u201d created for them. While this exhibition cannot be reduced to a simple game of \u201cfind the seven differences,\u201d it naturally offers the opportunity to examine the similarities that persist from one project to another.<\/p>\n
The primary aim is to observe the creative process\u2014to study how Debr\u00e9 approaches a commissioned project and conducts aesthetic research that remains deeply personal. The exhibition highlights the distinct characteristics of each of these four commissions as well as their differences.<\/p>\n
Among the 60 preparatory works on display, half relate to the Com\u00e9die-Fran\u00e7aise, for which the artist produced about a hundred sketches (compared to around twenty for Shanghai, for example). The exhibition also showcases the individual identity of each curtain, expressed by the artist through very varied chromatic explorations.<\/p>\n
This exhibition offers a chance to discover a new dimension of Olivier Debr\u00e9\u2019s body of work, one that depends less on sensation and landscape and more on a sustained plastic and conceptual reflection required by a specific commission.
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