Description

Michel JOURNIAC (France / 1935-1995) Alphabet of the body, 1965 Oil on canvas (supplier's mark (BOSSELUT / Île Saint Louis', on stretcher) Signed and dated 'Journiac 65' (lower right) 116 x 81 cm (sold unframed) Provenance : -Éditions La Différence, Paris (gift of the artist). -Private collection, Paris. MICHEL JOURNIAC (1935-1995), ALPHABET D'IDENTITÉES : WORKS FROM THE COLETTE LAMBRICHS COLLECTION, ÉDITIONS LA DIFFÉRENCE The woman of letters Colette Lambrichs (b. 1946), from whom the following two works by Michel Journiac from the "Alphabet" series come (lots ... and ...), claimed that "the artist should have been at the forefront of French art in the 80s". Today, Journiac is well represented in François Pinault's collection. Director of the renowned La Différence publishing house since 1976, Colette Lambrichs recognized the importance of French painter, performer and transvestite Michel Journiac (1935-1995) as early as the 1960s, at the dawn of the May 1968 revolution in morality, who focused on questioning gender identity and the notion of the traditional family. Known for his performances and photos in which he dresses and makes up as each member of his family, Journiac questions traditional family roles and gender identity, following in the footsteps of Claude Cahun. Michel Journiac's paintings from the 1960s, which follow the same approach and of which Osenat is presenting two important works, are less well known, and have a more intimate and carnal side. The two present paintings are biomorphic gridded abstractions, halfway between carnal surrealism and rational minimalism, unprecedented in Parisian art of the 1960s, presenting a synthesis between lyrical abstraction and minimalism. A rational grid of multiple entrails. One thinks of the viscerality of Chaïm Soutine, but also of the rationalism of Bernd and Hilla Becher. One thinks of the fluidity of Achille Gorky, and the coldness of Donald Judd. Colette Lambrichs, to whom these two works belonged personally, wrote of her encounter with Journiac: "Michel Journiac was a great friend of ours, both to Joaquim Vital (1948-2010, Portuguese poet) and to me. A former seminarian, [Journiac] created a political, libertarian and inspired body of work that should have been at the forefront of French art in the 1980s. When I left Belgium in 1972, I took an exhibition I'd organized at the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, entitled "La Vénus de Milo ou les dangers de la célébrité", to the Musée des Arts décoratifs in Paris. Among the contemporary artists I asked to create a Venus de Milo was Michel Journiac. Three years later, when I met Joaquim Vital in the offices of Éditions de la Différence, which he had just founded, I was surprised to see Journiac's Venus in his hands. He had bought it along with several other pieces. Éditions de la Différence, to whom the two present works were donated by Journiac, published the first essay on Journiac's work in 1977, "Michel Journiac, l'ossuaire de l'esprit" by Marcel Paquet, as well as a book of the artist's poems, "Délit du corps", in 1978. They had planned to publish a volume on Journiac in the "Mains et Merveilles" collection, but the artist's death in 1995, followed by that of Pierre Restany, who was to have written the text, postponed the publication, which ultimately never took place."

Automatically translated by DeepL. The original version is the only legally valid version.
To see the original version, click here.

160 
Go to lot
<
>

Michel JOURNIAC (France / 1935-1995) Alphabet of the body, 1965 Oil on canvas (supplier's mark (BOSSELUT / Île Saint Louis', on stretcher) Signed and dated 'Journiac 65' (lower right) 116 x 81 cm (sold unframed) Provenance : -Éditions La Différence, Paris (gift of the artist). -Private collection, Paris. MICHEL JOURNIAC (1935-1995), ALPHABET D'IDENTITÉES : WORKS FROM THE COLETTE LAMBRICHS COLLECTION, ÉDITIONS LA DIFFÉRENCE The woman of letters Colette Lambrichs (b. 1946), from whom the following two works by Michel Journiac from the "Alphabet" series come (lots ... and ...), claimed that "the artist should have been at the forefront of French art in the 80s". Today, Journiac is well represented in François Pinault's collection. Director of the renowned La Différence publishing house since 1976, Colette Lambrichs recognized the importance of French painter, performer and transvestite Michel Journiac (1935-1995) as early as the 1960s, at the dawn of the May 1968 revolution in morality, who focused on questioning gender identity and the notion of the traditional family. Known for his performances and photos in which he dresses and makes up as each member of his family, Journiac questions traditional family roles and gender identity, following in the footsteps of Claude Cahun. Michel Journiac's paintings from the 1960s, which follow the same approach and of which Osenat is presenting two important works, are less well known, and have a more intimate and carnal side. The two present paintings are biomorphic gridded abstractions, halfway between carnal surrealism and rational minimalism, unprecedented in Parisian art of the 1960s, presenting a synthesis between lyrical abstraction and minimalism. A rational grid of multiple entrails. One thinks of the viscerality of Chaïm Soutine, but also of the rationalism of Bernd and Hilla Becher. One thinks of the fluidity of Achille Gorky, and the coldness of Donald Judd. Colette Lambrichs, to whom these two works belonged personally, wrote of her encounter with Journiac: "Michel Journiac was a great friend of ours, both to Joaquim Vital (1948-2010, Portuguese poet) and to me. A former seminarian, [Journiac] created a political, libertarian and inspired body of work that should have been at the forefront of French art in the 1980s. When I left Belgium in 1972, I took an exhibition I'd organized at the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, entitled "La Vénus de Milo ou les dangers de la célébrité", to the Musée des Arts décoratifs in Paris. Among the contemporary artists I asked to create a Venus de Milo was Michel Journiac. Three years later, when I met Joaquim Vital in the offices of Éditions de la Différence, which he had just founded, I was surprised to see Journiac's Venus in his hands. He had bought it along with several other pieces. Éditions de la Différence, to whom the two present works were donated by Journiac, published the first essay on Journiac's work in 1977, "Michel Journiac, l'ossuaire de l'esprit" by Marcel Paquet, as well as a book of the artist's poems, "Délit du corps", in 1978. They had planned to publish a volume on Journiac in the "Mains et Merveilles" collection, but the artist's death in 1995, followed by that of Pierre Restany, who was to have written the text, postponed the publication, which ultimately never took place."

Estimate 5 000 - 7 000 EUR

* Not including buyer’s premium.
Please read the conditions of sale for more information.

Sale fees: 26 %
Leave bid
Register

For sale on Sunday 07 Jul : 14:00 (CEST)
versailles, France
Osenat
+33164222762
Browse the catalogue Sales terms Sale info

Delivery to
Change delivery address
Delivery is not mandatory.
You may use the carrier of your choice.
The indicated price does not include the price of the lot or the auction house's fees.

You may also like

Michel JOURNIAC (France / 1935-1995) Letter for a blood alphabet, circa 1965 Oil on canvas (supplier's mark (BOSSELUT / Île Saint Louis', on stretcher) Unsigned On reverse: handwritten numbering '51'. 116 x 89 cm (sold unframed) Provenance : -Éditions La Différence, Paris (gift of the artist). -Private collection, Paris. MICHEL JOURNIAC (1935-1995), ALPHABET D'IDENTITÉES : WORKS FROM THE COLETTE LAMBRICHS COLLECTION, ÉDITIONS LA DIFFÉRENCE The woman of letters Colette Lambrichs (b. 1946), from whom the following two works by Michel Journiac from the "Alphabet" series come (lots ... and ...), claimed that "the artist should have been at the forefront of French art in the 80s". Today, Journiac is well represented in François Pinault's collection. Director of the renowned La Différence publishing house since 1976, Colette Lambrichs recognized the importance of French painter, performer and transvestite Michel Journiac (1935-1995) as early as the 1960s, at the dawn of the May 1968 revolution in morality, who focused on questioning gender identity and the notion of the traditional family. Known for his performances and photos in which he dresses and makes up as each member of his family, Journiac questions traditional family roles and gender identity, following in the footsteps of Claude Cahun. Michel Journiac's paintings from the 1960s, which follow the same approach and of which Osenat is presenting two important works, are less well known, and have a more intimate and carnal side. The two present paintings are biomorphic gridded abstractions, halfway between carnal surrealism and rational minimalism, unprecedented in Parisian art of the 1960s, presenting a synthesis between lyrical abstraction and minimalism. A rational grid of multiple entrails. One thinks of the viscerality of Chaïm Soutine, but also of the rationalism of Bernd and Hilla Becher. One thinks of the fluidity of Achille Gorky, and the coldness of Donald Judd. Colette Lambrichs, to whom these two works belonged personally, wrote of her encounter with Journiac: "Michel Journiac was a great friend of ours, both to Joaquim Vital (1948-2010, Portuguese poet) and to me. A former seminarian, [Journiac] created a political, libertarian and inspired body of work that should have been at the forefront of French art in the 1980s. When I left Belgium in 1972, I took an exhibition I'd organized at the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, entitled "La Vénus de Milo ou les dangers de la célébrité", to the Musée des Arts décoratifs in Paris. Among the contemporary artists I asked to create a Venus de Milo was Michel Journiac. Three years later, when I met Joaquim Vital in the offices of Éditions de la Différence, which he had just founded, I was surprised to see Journiac's Venus in his hands. He had bought it along with several other pieces. Éditions de la Différence, to whom the two present works were donated by Journiac, published the first essay on Journiac's work in 1977, "Michel Journiac, l'ossuaire de l'esprit" by Marcel Paquet, as well as a book of the artist's poems, "Délit du corps", in 1978. They had planned to publish a volume on Journiac in the "Mains et Merveilles" collection, but the artist's death in 1995, followed by that of Pierre Restany, who was to have written the text, postponed the publication, which ultimately never took place."