Mar
16
Carte Blanche Art Exhibition at La Goulotte
Next month, I will be translating the catalog for an exhibition at La Goulotte, the former home of Christian Zervos at Vézelay in the Bourgogne region of France.
The exhibition is being put up this summer by the Fondation Christan et Yvonne Zervos, which also offers residencies for artists at La Goulotte.
Born in Greece in 1889 as Kristos Zervos, Christian grew up in Alexandria before moving to France. In 1927, he launched the now-classic art review Cahiers d’art.
Focusing on both primitive and modern art, the review became famous for its unique design and editorial style–elements Zervos personally directed throughout the review’s 97 issues. Cahiers d’art appeared regularly until 1960 and continued to publish an annual edition until 1970.
Many of the articles that appeared in its pages are now considered classics, both of art theory and of criticism, and the review gave voice to many new artists and movements. Authors and artists associated with Cahiers d’art include such luminaries as Breton, Dalí, Tzara, Beckett, Artaud, Bataille, and especially Paul Eluard and Réné Char. Zervos even published some poetry by Pablo Picasso.
For decades, both the review and Zervos’s wife, Yvonne, organized groundbreaking exhibits in Paris and around France. Zervos is well-known for his exhaustive scholarly work on Pablo Picasso: a 33-volume catalog Zervos started in 1932 and continued to work on until his death in 1970.
Christian Zervos also published articles opposing the Third Reich and the aesthetics of social realism. During World War II, while production of the review was suspended, he and Yvonne served as liaisons between the maquis in Vézelay and the Resistance in Paris.
Today, the Fondation Zervos maintains La Goulotte, Zervos’s house in Vézelay, as a Maison des Critiques d’art intended “to serve art criticism, artists, and intellectuals.” They also publish books and catalogs, and hosts exhibits.
Since 2006, the Fondation Zervos has awarded the biannual Prix Christian et Yvonne Zervos, a residency program that allows the winning artist to stay in La Goulotte while completing his or her project with material support from the foundation. The summer following the residency, the artist’s works are exhibited at La Goulotte. When a resident’s work is not being shown, the foundation sponsors a “carte blanche” exposition in the house.
I will be translating the catalog for this summer’s “carte blanche” exhibition. I will post updates once I learn more…
