Jean-Pierre Raynaud : « Ce n'est pas une exposition mais une rencontre »

The article

In the Metz edition of Le Républicain Lorrain, Lisa Lagrange reports on the inauguration of Galerie Nathan Chiche on Thursday 16 May 2024 in the former Prouvé school in Vantoux. She notes the large press turnout, with the mayor, Antoine Dorr, referring to a whole busload of Parisian journalists, and the presence of Jean-Pierre Raynaud, who came to talk about his work at the invitation of the gallerists, a mother and her son.

The article focuses on the meaning the artist gives to his visit. Represented in the permanent collections of the Centre Pompidou, MoMA and the Guggenheim Bilbao, and seldom shown in galleries, he says he accepted out of admiration for Jean Prouvé and speaks of an encounter rather than an exhibition. His vanitas pieces, installed without drilling into the walls, respond through their seriality to the building's portholes, and he explains that he wanted to respect the place.

Asked about the presence of skulls in a school that closed in 2014 after half a century of activity, he links the end and the beginning of life and presents childhood as what unites him with Prouvé, as with everyone; he also mentions his friend Francis Bacon. Among the guests, the journalist names Jean-Luc Bohl, mayor of Montigny-lès-Metz, and Françoise Jean, a teacher at the school in the late 1980s.

Nathan Chicheportiche announces talks and concerts and is now counting on visitors. The gallery opens to the public the following day, then on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 2 pm to 6 pm, with free admission.