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About the artist: An influential figure within body art (body art), French artist Gina Pane (1939-1990) has a body of work marked by avant-garde experimentation, which could be described as a continuous exploration of the frontiers of art. At the start of his career, Pane enrolled at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris, studied lithography, then took courses at Edmée Larnaudie’s Sacred Art Workshop in the early 1960s. to his training and his personal practice, between 1976 and 1989, the artist taught painting at the Ecole Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Le Mans. Pane’s work on canvas and paper from the 1960s specifically exemplifies his deep understanding and skilful use of abstraction, composition and space. From the 1970s, Pane became a central figure in the body art movement, performing “actions” consisting of physical and psychological ordeals watched by helpless audiences. Her innovative, body-focused practice cemented her place in the canon of art history and her work has been an important source of inspiration for her contemporaries and artists today.
What do you want to know: Mennour gallery in Paris currently presents “Gina Pane: Preliminary», the fifth exhibition of the artists with the gallery. Focusing on work Pane made while a student in Paris until 1969-70, the show highlights the formative and in many ways informative work she did before her transition to performance. Although Pane largely turned away from traditional modes of artmaking after her entry into body-based action art, the importance of her paintings and works on paper cannot be underestimated. Presented until June 3, 2023, at 47 rue Saint-André-des-Arts de Mennour, the exhibition is composed of paintings, lithographs and preparatory sketches. The influence of contemporary styles and movements can be easily seen throughout the show, ranging from geometric abstraction, Suprematism and Russian constructivism. Line, form and especially color emphasize Pane’s superior understanding of the formal elements of artistic creation, while the diversity of composition across the show illustrates his early penchant for experimentation. In creating the exhibition, Mennour undertook a major restoration of the works, preserving and presenting them to the highest and most proper degree.
According to the Gallery: “Since the gallery began representing artists’ estates, Mennour has devoted significant resources to the curation and technical study of their works, be they sculptures, installations, photographs or paintings like those of Gina Pane. The gallery relies on a trusted group of experts, from conservation scientists to restoration specialists as well as an array of artisans caring for high quality storage and travel media.
In the case of Gina Pane, we have expressly restored a series of works to be presented in the exhibition. Going through the process of consolidation, the curators revealed the constitutive aspect of the artist’s experimental practice (type of paint she used and fabric of the canvas), and how, even if it is two-dimensional works, her paintings were an attempt to construct geometric shapes in space.”—Emma-Charlotte Gobry-Laurencin, curator of the exhibition
See the featured works from the exhibition below.
Gina Panel, Untitled (nd). 57.28 x 44.8 x 0.79 in. (145.5 x 113.8 x 2cm). Courtesy of Mennour, Paris.
Gina Panel, Untitled (nd). 31.89 x 25.59 x 0.79 in (81 x 65 x 2 cm). Courtesy of Mennour, Paris.
Gina Panel, Untitled (nd). 39.25 x 28.74 x 0.79 in. (99.7 x 73 x 2cm). Courtesy of Mennour, Paris.
Gina Panel, Untitled (nd). 39.37 x 32.01 x 0.79 in. (100 x 81.3 x 2cm). Courtesy of Mennour, Paris.
Gina Panel, Untitled (1970). 25.59 x 19.69 in. (65x50cm). Courtesy of Mennour, Paris.
Gina Panel, Untitled (1968). 25.59 x 19.69 in. (65x50cm). Courtesy of Mennour, Paris.
“Gina Pane: Preliminaryis on view at Mennour, 47 rue Saint-André-des-Arts, Paris, until June 3, 2023.
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