Jean Lurçat : La Terre, Le Feu, L'eau, L'air

Exhibition at the Musée Hyacinthe Rigaud, Perpignan, 22 June - 29 December 2024

Jean Lurçat (1892-1966) made his name as a cartonnier of tapestries, but his creativity also found expression in painting, drawing, engraving, theatre sets, writing and illustration. The artist also contributed to the revival of ceramics in the 1950s. He is one of the painters who raised to the level of art a field that had long been associated with utilitarian, craft or industrial production. The world of artistic ceramics opened up a new space of freedom for Jean Lurçat, which satisfied his creative hunger for almost sixteen years, from 1951 to 1966. The medium became one of the links in his aesthetic language.

By exploring previously unpublished archives, this exhibition catalogue takes a closer look at the earthenware that Lurçat produced exclusively in Perpignan, in the Sant Vicens workshop. Mirroring the pottery centre of the Côte d'Azur, where Picasso reigned, Lurçat chose the Catalan heritage not only out of friendship and for the quality of life in Roussillon, but also in memory of the Spanish war, which particularly affected him.