Jean Hélion

Exhibition at the Musée d'Art Moderne, Paris, 22 March - 18 August 2024

A painter and intellectual whose work spans the twentieth century, Jean Hélion (1904-1987) was initially one of the pioneers of abstraction, which he introduced to America in the 1930s, before moving towards personal figuration from 1939, at a time when abstract art was beginning to make its mark on the international scene, and taking a greater interest in the human figure and "the real".

This exhibition catalogue brings together over 150 works (103 paintings, 50 drawings, notebooks and a wealth of documentation) rarely shown to the public, from major French and international institutions as well as numerous private collections. The contributions reflect Hélion's artistic development from the late 1920s onwards, through a selection of his most significant works.