VALLAURIS
June 1, 2024
Roger Capron, Jean Derval, Pablo Picasso
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SAINT-TROPEZ
50 BOULEVARD LOUIS BLANC 83990 SAINT-TROPEZ
Dumas+Limbach is pleased to present "Vallauris : Roger Capron, Jean Derval, Pablo Picasso" a group showin in our Saint Tropez gallery. On this occasion, we will showcase emblematic artworks of the French ceramists of the Vallauris school.
Vallauris, just a few kilometers from the beaches of the Côte d'Azur in the south of France, has distinguished itself over the decades as the emblem of ceramics.
The 1950s were the golden age of Vallauris. Architects, intellectuals and artists from art schools converged on Vallauris. Suzanne and Georges Ramié made this artistic emulation a reality. Conceived as a place for meeting and sharing, L'atelier Madoura became home to Pablo Picasso, Marc Chagall, Henri Matisse, Jean Cocteau, Roger Capron, Jean Derval and many others.
Technique does not come first. Most of these great names had never even touched the ground. Freed from methodological constraints, their productions became increasingly innovative and perilous, reinforcing their exceptionality. Two general trends emerge: interest in animal subjects and geometric settings.
ROGER CAPRON
To the left : Masque, end of XXth century
Raku ceramic, engobes & enamel
21 x 16.05 cm
To the right : Visage totem aux cercles, end of XXth century
Raku ceramic & engobes
45 x 25 x 12 cm
ROGER CAPRON
Rhinocéros, end of XXth century
Raku ceramic
35 x 78 x 17 cm
Roger Capron was born in Vincennes on September 4, 1922. He studied at the Ecole des Arts Appliqués in Paris until 1943. Alongside Robert Picault and Jean Derval, he participated in the renaissance of ceramics in Vallauris. In 1952, he founded Atelier Capron, a factory employing some fifty workers. This enabled him to put his know-how to work in semi-industrial production, earning him an international reputation.
From 1955 onwards, Roger Capron's work focused on the creation and production of earthenware tiles and tables, perpetuating the adage of his master René Gabriel "to make beauty within everyone's reach".
Roger Capron has also produced numerous creations in the so-called primitive aesthetic, notably around the totemic figure. The Raku technique, to which he was introduced by his son Philippe in 1987, gives them a rough appearance.
Around 1990, Roger Capron embarked on a completely new line of work, producing unique, sculpture-like pieces. With the help of his wife Jacotte and long-time collaborator Jean-Paul Bonnet, he opened a small workshop in Vallauris and created fired pieces (using the "terre enfumée" technique) for galleries around the world.
In the 2000s, Roger Capron's aesthetic language was taken up by sculpture in the round.
In 2003, a major retrospective exhibition, "Les Capron", was held at the Musée National de Céramique in Sèvres.
Roger Capron died three years later, leaving behind a considerable body of work, recognized the world over.
ROGER CAPRON
Fresque soleil d'été, end of XXth century
Enamelled ceramic
106 x 83 cm
JEAN DERVAL
Untitled, 1989
Enamelled ceramic sculpture (details)
170 x 79 x 79 cm
JEAN DERVAL
To the top : Princesse Europa, 2001
Ceramic sculpture
42 x 55 x 14 cm
Below : Sculpture “The Abduction of Europe",2001
Stoneware and polychrome enamel
41 x 33 x 10 cm
Jean Derval escapes the judgment of time. His timeless vocabulary makes his creations exceptional.
His mastery of drawing enables him to be an accomplished ceramist, building an almost perfect synergy between the two disciplines.
Before he was a ceramist, Derval was a draughtsman. Throughout his life, he never ceased to consider himself as such.
After obtaining his school-leaving certificate, Derval entered the École nationale supérieure des arts appliqués in industry. It was there, in 1922, that he met Roger Capron and Robert Picault. Unwittingly, as their friendship took shape, the artistic destinies of three men were sealed.
The “three roosters”, as they like to call themselves, are indeed dependent on their respective talents in Vallauris.
He revived aesthetic fields that had sometimes been extensively explored by artists of previous generations.
Religious and mythological subjects are among the most eloquent examples.
Bold and refined, his work aspires to technical complexity.
Based on geometric forms, which he calls “geometrical”, Derval sketches all the shapes he gives life to from a drawing board. He then extracts the volume from the strokes, itself subordinated to a composition initially conceived and designed for the three-dimensional.
“I don't believe in working for oneself. The visual artist must situate himself in people's lives, not for the museum or virtual experimentation. I believe in art for living with in everyday life”.
Quotation from Jean Derval
PABLO PICASSO
Ceramics
PABLO PICASSO
Black Engraved Face, 1953
Ceramic
31 x 26 x 26 cm
A multi-talented artist, Pablo Picasso is what you might call a prodigy. A legend was born who knew how to draw even before he could speak.
Born in 1881 in Málaga, Spain, the Catalan atmosphere and daily life had a rigorous influence on the themes of his early work, as did the theme of bullfighting.
Picasso's charismatic halo caught his father's attention. Dazzled and admiring, he took charge of his artistic training, enrolling him in 1896 at the School of Fine Arts in La Coruña, then in Barcelona. There, the artist led a fairly free life, frequenting a bohemian environment and cabarets.
In 1901, the painter moved to Paris.
It was at this point that his work evolved considerably, and was divided into several periods.
At the end of July 1946, Picasso attends the annual pottery exhibition in Vallauris. His meeting with Georges and Suzanne Ramié, the happy owners of Atelier Madoura, aroused the artist's curiosity, and he devoted himself to ceramics.
A period of intense production began. Clay brought her freedom, new perspectives and infinite creative possibilities.
PABLO PICASSO