Head to Foot. Musée Würth France

From 31th January to 10th September 2017, Ritums Ivanovs paintings from the Dreamers series are on display on a massive group show of Musée Würth France. Through 130 paintings, drawings, sculptures and installations from the Würth Collection, the exhibition presents a fascinating vision of the representation of the human figure in art. The extensive selection of works, dating from the late 19th century up to the present day, encompasses major pieces from the Würth Collection as well as recent acquisitions.The exhibition looks at themes as varied as the ideal body, its impermanence, the fragmented body, the portrait and the self-portrait, the eternal feminine and more, through the works of nearly 100 different artists, from Pablo Picasso to Georg Baselitz, by way of Andy Warhol, A.R. Penck, Marc Quinn, Jaume Plensa, Magdalena Abakanowicz and Gilbert & George.
Since time immemorial, portrayals of the human figure have always sought not only to represent its physiological reality, but also to ask questions about human nature through formal means. The human figure has been an essential and universal subject in the history of Western art – especially in the form of the portrait and the nude – and confirms the artist’s role as “creator” in the literal sense of the term, whilst allowing artists to investigate their place in the world. From the idealised bodies of Greek statuary to the body as experimental object in contemporary art, these representations have evolved constantly throughout history: following the lethal excesses of the twentieth century and the rise of the consumer society, people have developed a new relationship to the world, translated by a new perception of the body: a contemporary body seen as an adjustable package.
So what is now possible in terms of digital enhancement and surgical intervention has blurred the boundaries between what is natural and what has been transformed by human hand. More and more people no longer see their bodies as natural or divine gifts that should be accepted, but rather as upgradable units – consumer objects – that can be manipulated at will depending on a person’s bank balance or the talents of a surgeon. The current diktats and social norms relating to appearance are such that Body Mass Index (BMI) seems to have supplanted genuine well-being.

See more: Musée Würth France
Previous
Interview. Voog user experience
Next
Exhibition of the Zuzāns Collection