March 18 – May 20, 2007
The result of a day out walking in the countryside around Aix two years before the great celebrations of the Year of Cézanne, this exhibition at the Collection Lambert is actually the continuation of a ‘first draft’ presented last autumn on the Cours Mirabeau. Last year, following a preliminary project that was deemed too ambitious for the city of Aix, the gallery of the Conseil général des Bouches-du-Rhône suggested that the Collection Lambert might round off its Cézanne season with a tribute to the Master in the form of contemporary artworks.
Despite its ideal location, the small size of the gallery was frustrating, as it could not house the large-scale installations, paintings and photographs originally earmarked for display. This is why we decided to present this show in Avignon in spring 2007, at last paying Cézanne the ambitious tribute we had been dreaming of for the past four years.
Some thirty artists responded to our proposal, selecting their works either alone or with our assistance, choosing from pieces that already existed or responding to specific commissions. All contemporary techniques are represented in this tribute to Cézanne: paintings, drawings, videos, photographs, installations, sculptures and mural works.