THE ART OF HOPE: NEW SCHOOL OF PARIS
Villepin presents its new show entitled ''The Art of Hope'', showcasing a group of painters from the New School of Paris, who became active subsequent to the Second World War.
The New School of Paris was a school for the exiles and adopted Parisians, a milieu of chosen rather than given identities. Zao Wou-Ki came from China, Jean-Paul Riopelle from Canada, Georges Mathieu and Pierre Soulages from the north and south of France respectively, Hans Hartung from Germany, and Nicolas de Staël from Russia.
For each and every one of them, painting was a passion and even livelihood. They were members of a generation that experienced the horror of war, and whose lives and world views have been turned upside down by the outbreak of violence. Every painter exhibited here was at once a witness and a victim, each in their own way. All faced deprivation and humiliation, which metamorphosed into a desire to live, act, and paint, plunging them into finding trust and faith in humanity.
Today, in a world beset with crises, division, and trauma, we could maybe draw a lesson from these artists who clung to art as a means of survival, thereby guiding us towards the future with new energy and renewed confidence.
Exhibition Opening: 23 November 2020 - 9 April 2021
Space: 53-55 Hollywood Road, Central, Hong Kong