An exhibition tailor-made for Rennes, a young and politically active city
After the Debout ! (Stand Up!) exhibition in 2018 and le Noir et le Blanc (Black and White) in 2021, the Pinault Collection is back in Brittany for a new exhibition at the Couvent des Jacobins – with a theme tailored to Rennes, a young, activist and engaged city. The aesthetics of the sixties, which still influence many artists today, was chosen by the exhibition’s curator, Emma Lavigne. This new contemporary art event, forming part of the Exporama summer festival, will offer visitors a unique experience. It will take them on a journey to the heart of pop art, a movement whose bright colours, retake of advertising codes and criticism of the dominant culture are more relevant than ever.
Pop art, an anti-consumerist movement which is still topical
Did you know that there were several waves of pop art? Although this art movement was born in the UK in the 1950s, it was popularised in the USA in the 1960s with Andy Warhol and his iconic images of Marilyn Monroe. It was a cultural movement anchored in its time, which reframed images from advertising and cinema to better criticise consumer society. Because beyond its immediately recognisable aesthetic codes, pop art is also a political movement that tackles issues still relevant today, such as feminism, the hypersexualisation of the body, the fight against racism and social inequality.
It is a movement which reimagines and questions the status of images and works of art. It addresses an age-old and fascinating question about what art is and isn’t. To be discussed after visiting this new exhibition outside the walls of the Pinault Collection! This event is now firmly established in the Breton capital and takes place every two years in the summer.
More than 80 works on display…
© R. Hamilton, All Rights Reserved, Adagp, 2023
Enjoy this ‘arty’ experience through more than 80 works, paintings, sculptures, photographs, videos and installations by major artists such as Richard Avedon, Evelyne Axell, John Baldessari, Teresa Burga, Robert Colescott, Llyn Foulkes, Gilbert & George, Robert Gober, Richard Hamilton, David Hammons, Duane Hanson, Alain Jacquet, Edward Kienholz, Kiki Kogelnik, Barbara Kruger, Christian Marclay, Tim Noble & Sue Webster, Raymond Pettibon, Michelangelo Pistoletto, Richard Prince, Martial Raysse, Ed Ruscha, Niki de Saint Phalle, Elaine Sturtevant, Jerzy Ryszard ‘Jurry’ Zielinski and more.
…and a playlist selected by Etienne Daho
In the setting of the Couvent des Jacobins, the exhibition retraces this sixties revolution in the historical area of the convention centre. The contemporary part of the building hosts more recent works by artists influenced by this major trend in contemporary art.
Between the two, in the Atrium, a dedicated space takes you back in time through a chronological fresco linking the works to the key events of the 1960s. It’s the perfect place to take a break and immerse yourself in the atmosphere of the sixties to the sound of a playlist of almost one hundred iconic songs from the sixties, specially designed by Etienne Daho for the exhibition.
A museum pass for two exhibitions: Forever Sixties and Art is Magic
The exhibition is also extended through an associated cultural programme. Museum passes provide access to another of Exporama’s flagship exhibitions: Art is Magic, the not-to-be-missed Jeremy Deller retrospective at the Museum of Fine Arts, the FRAC Bretagne and La Criée Centre for Contemporary Art. This British artist, also an heir of the pop art movement, was heavily influenced by his time at Warhol’s Factory in New York.
Practical information
- Forever Sixties, the spirit of the 1960s in the Pinault Collection, from 10 June to 17 September 2023 in the Couvent des Jacobins, 20 Place Sainte-Anne in Rennes.
- Opening hours: Tuesday to Sunday, 10 am to 7 pm, evening visits every Wednesday until 9 pm. Closed on Mondays.
- Prices: Museum passes give access to the exhibitions Forever sixties (Couvent des Jacobins) and Art is Magic (the Museum of Fine Arts, the FRAC Bretagne and La Criée Centre for Contemporary Art). Full price: €12, concessions: €7. Free for people under 26. Passes also entitle holders to discounts on other art exhibitions this summer in Paris, Landerneau and Dinard. See the benefits of having a museum pass.
- Information and bookings: www.exposition-pinault-rennes.com
- Main photo credit : Tim Noble and Sue Webster, Forever, 2021, collection Pinault Copyright obligatoire : © Adagp, Paris, 2023
