Groupe Signe 1971–1974
Street Art in a Museum?
21 April–17 June 2012
Nouveau Musée National de Monaco
56 boulevard du Jardin Exotique
98000 Monaco
The Nouveau Musée National de Monaco presents its latest exhibition, Groupe Signe 1971–1974 which will be held at Villa Paloma, NMNM from April 21st to June 17th 2012.
The Groupe Signe is a group of artists created post-1968 in Monaco, led by the painters Claude Rosticher and Roland Marghieri and the photographers Michel Cresp and Pierre Lequien. They acted collectively between 1971 and 1974 in reaction to advertising and social conformity through iconoclastic actions leading to the creation of more poetic worlds.
The Groupe Signe expressed itself in the street or other public spaces with pop-up installations. Composed of scrap or recovered materials, so that everyone could take part in and adopt the work, they tackled themes linked to daily life and the deviations in society.
“This retrospective is pertinent because the questions raised 40 years ago are unfortunately still relevant today, and because the practice of art remains one of the best solutions for broadening our awareness.” Groupe Signe, abstract from the publication published for the exhibitions.
This exhibition, curated by the Groupe Signe, will provide a platform that will allow exchanges of opinions, hopes and utopias. It will present original documentation and archives from the Groupe Signe’s performances and stand as an account of their activities in Monaco, its surroundings and many other cities in France. Schoolchildren will be invited to workshops to build hot air balloons, debates will be organized with students, and the public will be invited to voice their opinions on the exhibition, art and life.
This exhibition is realized with the support of the Government of the Principality of Monaco, the Association of the Friends of the Museum and UBS AG. It will be accompanied by a bilingual publication of 140 pages edited by the NMNM and distributed by Les Editions du Rocher.
Villa Paloma which dates from the early 20th century is one of the finest patrician residencies in the Principality of Monaco. Originally built for private use, it was sold to the state of Monaco in 1995, to be given to the Nouveau Musée National de Monaco in 2008, and opened in 2010 under the direction of Marie-Claude Beaud. Since this date, the museum projects have been based in two locations, Villa Sauber (dedicated to performing and decorative arts) and Villa Paloma (showing projects linked to the cultural heritage and landscape analysis.).
Press Contacts:
Elodie Biancheri NMNM: e.biancheri@nmnm.mc
Brunswick Arts: NMNM@brunswickgroup.com
