It is thanks to Henrik Berggreen, a Danish collector and art enthusiast who settled in Figanières in the Var region where he passed away in 2012, that we have the pleasure of admiring this collection, which was donated to the city of Nice. This knowledgeable collector was a regular at the Galerie Catherine Issert in Saint Paul de Vence. The M.A.M.A.C is currently exhibiting about 70 works from his collection until the 1st of June.
Regular visitors to this museum will have noticed a continuity in its cultural policy. The artists exhibited are not unknown and have already graced its halls and walls. The rooms are designed like salons where visitors feel comfortable, almost at home; they can linger, sit down, admire a work, leave, and return. The exhibition is organized like a staging, a setting allowing for the discovery of just over ten artists.
The whole is divided into three parts, three themes, three acts: Personal mythologies where new realists and the new figuration of the 1960s clash. The questioning of the canvas and its supports, no more frameworks, the materials seem to disappear, ultimately becoming the determining element of the work, which can even be outdoors!
And finally, the expansion of the pictorial field, giving everyday objects, like fishing equipment, an artistic nobility. Everything is questioned. It is understood that this exhibition is absolutely unique in its kind: unique in concept, unique in structure, and in its message. The visitor is invited to better understand modern and contemporary art, which must be approached in a nuanced way to grasp its essence and purpose. A sort of art class.
The M.A.M.A.C is exhibiting this donation until the 1st of June. One can thank the donor and the contemporary art museum for this gift to Nice and its residents. A visit is a must; it will change your view of modern art.
Thierry Jan
