Gauguin: Maker of Myth

MEDIA RELEASE: Tate Modern

30 September 2010 – 16 January 2011
Sponsored by Bank of America Merrill Lynch with
The Gauguin Exhibition Supporters Group
Tate Modern, Level 4
Bankside, London

Gauguin (1848-1903) is one of the most influential and celebrated artists of the late nineteenth century. Remarkably, this is the first major exhibition in London to be devoted to his work in over half a century. Opening at Tate Modern on 30 September 2010, Gauguin: Maker of Myth

A Post-Impressionist and a pioneer of modernism, Gauguin’s powerful and bold images were seen as radical as he distanced himself from the influence of Impressionism. Gauguin’s life has for generations epitomised the idea of the artist as romantic bohemian, looming as large as his art in the public imagination. This exhibition will challenge commonly held assumptions about the artist and his practice. It will reveal to a twenty-first century audience the complexity and richness of his narrative strategies and explore the myths and fables that were central to his creativity.

Gauguin: Maker of Myth will feature many of his iconic works including Vision of the Sermon 1888 (National Gallery of Scotland), inspired by Brittany, and Teha’amana has Many Parents 1893 (Art Institute of Chicago), painted during his time of self-imposed exile in Tahiti. Gauguin sought to escape European civilisation in the South Seas. Inspired by Tahiti’s tropical flora, fauna and daily island life he also immersed himself in its fast-disappearing local culture to invest his art with deeper meaning, ritual and myth. While Tahiti revitalised Gauguin’s artistic oeuvre, the works were a continuation of his earlier practice in Brittany, Martinique and Arles, in which Gauguin first explored ideas around religion, fable, myth and tradition.

A highlight of the exhibition will be a sequence of powerful self-portraits including Self-portrait as Christ in the Garden of Olives 1889 (Norton Museum of Art, Florida) and Self-portrait with Manau tu papau 1893 (Musée d’Orsay, Paris). These works demonstrate Gauguin’s aptitude at role-playing as he adopts different guises of victim, saint, Christ-like martyr and sinner.

Gauguin: Maker of Myth reflects the artist’s remarkable breadth of approach by including examples from every period of his practice. Works in a wide range of media including painting, monotype, woodcut, watercolour, ceramics, carvings and decorated objects will be shown alongside rarely-seen illustrated letters, sketchbooks, memoirs and journalism, revealing intimate insights into the artist’s working practices and thought processes.

Gauguin: Maker of Myth is curated by Belinda Thomson, freelance art historian and leading specialist on Gauguin, Christine Riding, Curator, Tate, Amy Dickson, Assistant Curator, Tate Modern, with Tamar Garb as an external curator. The documentary section will be curated by Vincent Gilles. Gauguin: Maker of Myth is organised by Tate Modern in association with the National Gallery of Art, Washington where the exhibition will travel from 27 February – 5 June 2011. The exhibition is accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue which includes essays from leading international scholars.

Rena DeSisto, Global Arts & Heritage Executive at Bank of America Merrill Lynch said: “At Bank of America Merrill Lynch we believe that art plays an intrinsic role in creating a more culturally-aware society. We are therefore delighted to partner with Tate Modern to bring a selection of works by world-renowned artist, Gauguin, to the public. In our company’s continued efforts to create common cultural experiences for audiences around the world, we are also proud to announce our sponsorship of Gauguin: Maker of Myth when the exhibition travels to the National Gallery of Art, Washington. We hope that visitors will enjoy what promises to be a fascinating exhibition; one that will enlighten us not only about Gauguin’s art, but about the traditions and myths of others.“

Gauguin: Maker of Myth