This exhibition confronts the seemingly opposite works of two major artists for the first time. In this unique encounter, what is at stake is the confrontation of two creators, but also that of viewers with two equally impacting artistic worlds. Francis Bacon and Bruce Nauman : two artists coming from distinct generations and artistic backgrounds. One is a British painter who references pictorial and cinematographic traditions in order to better subvert them, the other is an American landmark of video performance, sculpture and installations. In their respective practice, each sees art as an experience and challenges the audience in its interaction with art. Constraints, limitation of the body, the place of chance and performance are among the parallels to be made between their works. When Bacon was randomly throwing splashes of white paint on his canvases, Nauman had bawls bouncing against the roof of his studio. Both artists explore the idea of a moving reality and investigate the structures of human experience by the mean of a never-ending performance, and especially that of bluntly observing bodies and their deformations. Painting versus installation and video, the English figurative tradition faced with the American underground art scene, expressionism against minimalism : this unprecedented encounter brings a fresh perspective on these two icons of 20th century art.
