Is there, in the sense of an artistic movement, a Nice school, or should we rather speak of the schools of Nice? There are four places: Masséna Museum, MAMAC, the 109, and the Ponchettes Gallery where the question is posed to the public.
Is Nice a school of art, or has art always animated an artistic movement and a school in Nice? Asking the question is somewhat answering it.
We will thus explore these four places and attempt to pinpoint the question, as in art, as in philosophy, one can never answer a question categorically. A question inevitably leads to another question and thus, opens infinitely the debate on one or several schools of Nice, given the diversity of artists involved in their disciplines and expressions, artistic construction, and deconstruction.
We will begin our visit at the Villa Masséna, a beautiful building sheltered in the shade of its garden. This first part is a magnificent introduction to the evocation of the thirty years (1947-1977) of the school of Nice.
We delve back into history and one can, over time, discover the constantly innovative character of Nice in history and its pivotal role in historical facts, discoveries, and events. History, with its dramas, rifts, and revolutions, including the invention of tourism at the end of the 19th century, offers the visitor a fascinating journey back in time.
Now that the visitor is well-prepared, they can approach the second part of this exhibition and visit the temple of modern art that is MAMAC. In 1947, three men made a vow… But one must go to this museum to discover both this vow and the work of these artists: Yves Klein appropriating the blue of the sky; Claude Pascal seizing the air, and the third, Arman, taking hold of objects to modify and give them another purpose.
The visitor who has discovered the universe of these creative and destructive artists will then head to the Ponchettes Gallery where Noël Dolla brilliantly expresses support/surface. Walls painted in several colors, banners set up as if to trace the path to follow, the steps of a ballerina? Why not, as his work is ethereal and airy. It is a bit of respite for the visitor.
Then we will end with the fourth part at the 109. There, it is a journey through support/surface and the definition of painting and canvases, where artists, visual artists, and architects present their work. The guiding thread of this ultimate chapter of the exhibition: NICE 2017, ÉCOLE DE NICE, would be the idealization of the surface and its use in space. Painting is painting!
We have completed our visit, now perhaps we can answer the question: is there a school of Nice? We are not sure of the usefulness of answering it, let us celebrate this 70th anniversary of what we will simply call the school of Nice.
Thierry Jan
