Georgia O'Keeffe, the Mother of American modernism at the Pompidou Centre

Women are getting so much recognition this year, especially in the Art world! Following on from Women in Abstraction, the Centre is currently presenting works by American artist Georgia O’Keeffe, who is a genuine legend on the other side of the pond, yet unfortunately little-known in France. Very probably because, despite being the first woman to have her work (currently the most expensive in the world) on show at New York's MOMA, the French have always found her style combining figuration, the abstract, modernism and symbolic spirituality rather difficult to categorize.


Today, 35 years after her death, we have the opportunity to see just how original her totally off-beat approach was through the hundred odd works on show. Alfred Stieglitz, the famous New York photographer who became her husband encouraged her early on, as he immediately recognised the strength of her work and put her pieces on show at his 291 gallery in 1916. This led to her being the most photographed woman in the first half of the 20th century as he produced 350 portraits and 300 nudes of Georgia (not included in current exhibition). Right from the start, she inherited the 20th century portrayal of American landscapes, in love with the wilderness and fuelled by pantheism. She painted the infinite New Mexico horizons as much as the New York skyscrapers lit up by the sun or the moon, yet her large close-ups of flowers – in which we recognize the photographer's influence, triggered the imagination of the American public and critics.


The latter claimed to see sexual symbols, making for scandalous reading which Georgia always strongly denied with great contempt because, in her mind, she was reproducing real forms through abstract forms. She moved onto a more synthetic approach to the earth and the cosmos as well as the cycle of life and death, which became the underlying themes of her work, characterised by an almost abstract simplification combining austerity as much as sensuality. Georgia O’Keeffe's gift to the world is simply magnificent.


When entering the exhibition on the 6^th floor, you must have noticed the Georges*, the famous restaurant at the top of the centre designed by Renzo Piano, with an unbeatable view over Paris. A red rose in the middle of each table in the futuristic décor designed by Dominique Jakob and Brendan McFarlane – plus the Pink Bar nestled in the alcove and a large rooftop terrasse are the ideal settings to end the day in style! Take the time to stop off after the exhibition for at least a drink, if not dinner. We strongly suggest the crying tiger (Asian Suea rong hai dish) while enjoying the beautiful spectacle of the Paris monuments lighting up as the sun goes down. (*Groupe BEAUmarly)

Until the 6th of December, 2021


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