CÉSAR. ANTHOLOGIE PAR JEAN NOUVEL

CÈSAR BALDACCINI (1921-1998)

From July 8 to October 26, 2008, the Fondation Cartier pour l´art contemporain staged a major exhibition dedicated to the French artist César.  Jean Nouvel-as the architect of the Fondation Cartier and friend of César-had been invited to both select the works and design their presentation, thus offering a fresh perspective on one of the most important sculptors of the second half of the twentieth century. Through this exhibition, the Fondation Cartier honored an artist with whom it collaborated for almost 15 years-from 1984 until the sculptor´s death in 1998.

To accompagny this exhibition, the Fondation Cartier published a catalog bringing a new and more conceptual vision on César´s work. It presents approximately 100 important works of the artist´s career, including the compressions, the expansions and the Empreintes Humaines, as well as his scrap-iron bestiary sculptures, showing how early in  his career, César sets out to explore the formal and expressive possibilities offered by industrial materials. Including 130 illustrations, a text by Bernard Blistène and a conversation between Catherine Millet and Jean Nouvel, this catalog reveals the profound influence of César´s work on today´s art.