Ivan Messac

Ivan Messac is the youngest representative of the Figuration Narrative movement, in which he participated from 1969 to 1980 alongside Gérard Fromanger, Hervé Télémaque, Jacques Mohory and Bernard Rancillac. His practice, which began in a France shaken by May 68 and various social movements, can be described as "political Pop". He boldly combined the large, flat surfaces and pure colors of advertising posters with political issues such as the Vietnam War, the Cold War and the recognition of minorities. Recognized as a major artist of French painting, his works have been shown on a number of occasions in exhibitions tracing the Figuration Narrative movement, including at the Musée des Beaux-arts d'Orléans in 2005, the Musée Hospice Comtesse in Lille in 2007 and the Patinoire Royale in Brussels in 2015. In 2016, the Centre Pompidou created a major event with "Messac Live: 20 jours dans un tableau". For several days, Ivan Messac was asked to create a work in front of the public. In the end, he created not one but five monumental paintings for this memorable event.