Fernand L茅ger鈥檚 Cirque and the livre d鈥檃rtiste
Nov 17, 2018 - Mar 24, 2019
Published in Paris in 1950, Cirque was a collaboration between French modernist painter Fernand L茅ger and book publisher T茅riade. It is one in a series of twenty-seven such projects conceived by the publisher between 1943 and 1975. Known as livres d鈥檃rtiste, these finely printed, large-format books pair handwritten text with original artwork from some of the twentieth century鈥檚 most prominent artists. Cirque represents a small subset within this genre, a specialty of T茅riade鈥檚, which brings together original images and an original text, both the work of L茅ger. The project serves as a visual and poetic summary of L茅ger鈥檚 interest in the circus as a venue of entertainment and freedom, as well as a reflection by the artist near the end of his life on the themes that occupied his career. The exhibition is curated by Emily Shinn as part of her terminal project as a graduate student in the History of Art and Architecture, under the guidance of Danielle Knapp, McCosh Associate Curator.
Published in Paris in 1950, Cirque was a collaboration between French modernist painter Fernand L茅ger and book publisher T茅riade. It is one in a series of twenty-seven such projects conceived by the publisher between 1943 and 1975. Known as livres d鈥檃rtiste, these finely printed, large-format books pair handwritten text with original artwork from some of the twentieth century鈥檚 most prominent artists. Cirque represents a small subset within this genre, a specialty of T茅riade鈥檚, which brings together original images and an original text, both the work of L茅ger. The project serves as a visual and poetic summary of L茅ger鈥檚 interest in the circus as a venue of entertainment and freedom, as well as a reflection by the artist near the end of his life on the themes that occupied his career. The exhibition is curated by Emily Shinn as part of her terminal project as a graduate student in the History of Art and Architecture, under the guidance of Danielle Knapp, McCosh Associate Curator.
Artists on show
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The exhibition 鈥淔ernand L茅ger鈥檚 鈥楥irque鈥� and the 鈥榣ivre d鈥檃rtiste鈥欌�� will be on view from November 17, 2018 through March 22, 2019, at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art on the University of Oregon campus.
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