November 20, 2016 - February 19, 2017
The content of the paintings often only becomes apparent at second glance. Religious references are occasionally hidden behind the breathtaking sunsets, as well as reminders of the transience of all earthly things.
The range of landscape depictions in André Evard’s work is enormous, and the artistic development of this pioneer of modernism can be seen in the works in the exhibition. Among Evard’s early paintings, for example, there are examples that are clearly influenced by Art Nouveau. Dreamy and ornamental images of real landscapes that captivate every viewer with their beauty.
This is followed by impressionistic works, which, like a snapshot, do not capture the landscape itself, but rather the impression it makes on the viewer. The almost ephemeral manner of painting these works reveals the painter’s interest in what was then a completely new and revolutionary approach to painting.
Later works, on the other hand, are reminiscent of surrealistic landscapes. Others seem to fit seamlessly into the oeuvre of Henri Michaux, who, like Evard, created works that are both breathtaking and disturbing in their intensity, colourfulness and almost limitless imagination.
In addition to Evard’s representational works, his late work bears witness to the artist’s intensive engagement with abstraction. It culminates in compositions that reproduce fragments of landscapes and architectural components in a constructive manner. An exciting contrast to his early interpretations of similar motifs and at the same time testimony to the innovative spirit of this great artist of Swiss modernism.