JEAN MIOTTE
FEBRUARY, 2025
Solo Show
SHARE
PARIS
35 AVENUE MATIGNON
75008, FRANCE
Dumas+Limbach is pleased to present « Jean Miotte, Sillages du geste » a solo show in our Parisian gallery. On this occasion, we will showcase emblematic artworks of the French painter Jean Miotte.
Jean Miotte was born in Paris on September 8, 1926.
From a modest background, he grew up in the Paris suburbs, immersed in an era marked by the social and political upheavals of the pre-war years. An inquisitive and dreamy child, he soon developed a passion for drawing and music, finding in creation a refuge and a form of escape.
In the 1940s, as war disrupted his daily life, Jean Miotte began to paint on a self-taught basis. His work was initially influenced by cubism and surrealism, before he turned to a more gestural abstraction, inspired by dance and movement.
In 1957, he exhibited his work for the first time in Paris, to promising acclaim. The following year, he discovered New York, where the artistic effervescence of Abstract Expressionism had a profound effect on him. This encounter with American art prompted him to refine his style, freeing his gestures to a greater extent, favoring large expanses of color and dynamics of movement.
In the 1960s, Jean Miotte established himself as a major figure of lyrical abstraction, exhibiting regularly in Europe, the United States and Asia. Yet the artist remained on a perpetual quest, refusing to let himself be trapped in a fixed style. His painting evolves, driven by a constant search for freedom and intensity.
“Movement is my life”, he says.
JEAN MIOTTE
Tâche Solaire, 1980
Acrylic on canvas
66 x 102 cm
Centered on the energy of gesture, Jean Miotte's works are a manifesto of lyrical abstraction. The artist does not seek to represent, but to translate, through the dynamics of the line and the explosion of color, the inner movements that animate him: chaos, tension, reconciliation. Gesture becomes language, conveying raw, universal emotion.
The decisive turning point in his career came at the end of the 1950s, when his style fully asserted itself and found a major echo on the international art scene. His works were soon exhibited not only in Europe, but also in the United States and Asia, where their expressive power aroused keen interest.
In his seemingly free and spontaneous abstraction, Miotte stands out for the intensity and precision of his gesture. He is part of a European tradition of lyrical abstraction, while developing a deeply personal pictorial language that is constantly evolving.
JEAN MIOTTE
Allegro II, 1983
Acrylic on canvas
92 x 74 cm
JEAN MIOTTE
Frontière, 1983
Acrylic on canvas
106,5 x 124,5 cm
JEAN MIOTTE
Minuit, 1978
Acrylic on canvas
162,5 x 114,5 cm
The artist's adolescence took place in occupied Paris. As a result, Jean Miotte developed a real hostility to all forms of embrigadement and group effect. Perhaps this free spirit was to be found in movement, a notion that was to be at the heart of all his work. This passion dates back to his youth, nourished by his interest in dance, music and theater. More than mere inspiration, movement becomes a veritable language, a way of translating the energy of the world and the rhythms of life onto canvas.
Her paintings are not frozen narratives, but compositions in which line and color dance, clash and vibrate. Miotte seeks to capture the energy of gesture, not by representing it, but by living it directly on canvas. This dynamic allows her to break free from the classical forms of abstraction, developing a personal plastic vocabulary inspired by the body in motion.
In the 1970s and 1980s, his art spread beyond Europe's borders and found a wide echo in Asia, where his gestural, intuitive approach resonated with local artistic sensibilities. His works, imbued with tension and liberation, reflect a dialogue between tradition and modernity, making Jean Miotte one of the major figures of post-war abstraction.
“I'm passionate about dance and choreography. I would dream of a magnificent synthesis of painting, music and choreography.”
Quotation from Jean Miotte
