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Opera Gallery presents Alexander CALDER, Joan MIRO and Jean DUBUFFET for a collective exhibition of rare pieces of modern art. Since its opening in 1994, Opera Gallery has been a strong supporter of artists’ creativity and inventiveness – also visible in their work with contemporary artists worldwide. The curator Jean-David Malat celebrates artistic creativity through the work of three celebrated modern artists who, in their time, revolutionised the role of the artist in society; and explores the effects of artistic insurgency, both in its time and in the repercussions that it carries on contemporary art creation.

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ALEXANDER CALDER (1898-1976)
Prior to Calder’s forthcoming retrospective at the Tate next year, his artwork will be exhibited on a smaller scale at Opera Gallery. From Philadelphia, USA, Calder trained as an engineer and it wasn’t until he moved to Paris in 1928 that he met Joan Miró and Piet Mondrian. Both artists influenced his style of work and he began to experiment with abstract art. The pioneer of mobiles is best known for his kinetic art (circa 1931 – 2) after the invention of the ‘Stabile’, which is a static wire figure sculpture. ‘Mobile’ which is a kenetic abstract sculpture with balanced metal plates, rods and wires that was developed with Duchamp. Calder was awarded a main sculpture prize at the 1952 Venice Biennale and first prize for sculpture at the 1958 Pittsburgh International.

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JOAN MIRÓ (1893-1983)
A surrealist painter and sculptor, Miró was one of the first artists of his time to create images using automatic techniques. This process seemed to develop directly from his unconscious and yet it simplified the translation of imagination into language. Of Spanish Catalan decent, Miró was also part of the Generation of ’27, a collective of poets, writers, painters, sculptors and filmmakers. Miró supported bourgeois society and so expressed contempt for conventional artistic methods. He famously declared an ‘assassination of painting’ and practised an unconventional way of painting. Miró’s surrealist painting was largely channelled by the Catalonian persecution by the Franco regime. This, in turn helped to develop his work further – after coming into contact with Haitian Voodoo art and the Cuban Santeria religion. It is these diverse influences that led to his distinctive style of painting which can be seen throughout this exhibition.

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JEAN DUBUFFET (1901-1985)
The third of our Masters, Jean Dubuffet is a French painter, sculptor, lithographer and writer. Dubuffet is the creator of Art Brut, meaning ‘Raw Art’. Dubuffet defined Art Brut as “Those works created from solitude and from pure and authentic creative impulses – where the worries of competition, acclaim and social promotion do not interfere” (1987-88). Originally from Le Havre, Dubuffet moved to Paris in 1918 to study painting at the art Académie Julian. Dubuffet strayed from painting and didn’t begin again until 1930. His work had shifted to larger portraits, which emphasized the vogues in art history. Dubuffet paintings were dominated by portraits of Parisian street scenes, the Metro, jazz musicians; all treated with humorous, ironic imagery and executed in a grotesque style akin to native graffiti. In 1948, Dubuffet formed the “Compagnie de l’Art Brut” along with Andre Breton and other artists. Their manifesto was to counterbalance the influence of mainstream culture on artistic creation and allow artists to create more freely, without the need to be assimilated or recognised.

Lina Ayers 

Calder – Miró – Dubuffet is exhibited at Opera Gallery 14th– 31st October 2014, click here to visit the website.