Parcours des mondes: a crossed look between the art of Kongo and Pierre Soulages
"Kongo x Soulages".
African art dealer Lucas Ratton between a Kongo sculpture and an outrenoir painting by Pierre Soulages.
Exhibition on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the Parcours des mondes trade fair in Paris.
© Siegfried Forster / RFI
Text by: Siegfried Forster Follow
7 mins
It is the most prestigious fair on the planet for the primitive arts and in particular for classical African art.
From September 7 to 12, the Parcours des mondes celebrates its 20th anniversary in Saint-Germain-des-Près, in its historic Parisian district.
Among the 42 galleries present, the African art dealer Lucas Ratton brings together under the title “
Kongo x Soulages
”
some fifty works by Kongo and makes them dialogue with the creations of the famous contemporary painter Pierre Soulages.
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: You like to say that you learned at the same time to read and to look at the Bas-Congo statuettes from the famous collection of your great-uncle, Charles Ratton.
What is your relationship today with the art of Kongo
?
Lucas Ratton
:
My relationship is a bit special.
Before any exhibition, I have fun.
The pleasure of my job is to see these pieces first at home, as a collector would.
You have to put yourself in the shoes of a collector.
Passionate dealers are all a bit of hidden collectors.
I became a Kongo collector for five years.
It has been a long quest, with several destinies and several stories that I have searched all over the place.
Until the day when we feel that we are reaching the end and we say to ourselves: the ensemble we have created can finally deserve an exhibition.
The Kongo art objects exhibited here, have you found them in France, Europe, the Americas, Africa
?
Most of the pieces presented here come from European collections, as most of my knowledge and research is concentrated in Europe.
Many pieces come from collectors who bought them abroad, after which we try to have as much traceability as possible.
In general, the pieces travel through Europe, between France, Belgium, Germany, England… these are the main destinations where these pieces are found.
Which of the works on display do you consider to be the centerpiece
?
There is one that stands out from the others, because it is a nail fetish from the collection of the French sculptor Armand (1928-2005): a historical piece produced in many books and shown in many 'exhibitions.
It is a known and recognized piece, an icon of African art that people know, even if they are not fans of African art.
What is the aesthetic singularity of this piece
?
He is a Kongo fetish, from the Kongo ethnic group, from the Congo country.
It is a vigilante fetish, on which we encrusted nails.
Most of the time, they were put on when the fetish should do justice.
It is a magical object and at the same time protective, strong and powerful.
When we see it, we see this very prognathic face, with this very rough body and at the same time with these nails brutally driven into this object.
This shows all its sacredness and power.
It is an object quite easy to feel and which inspires a certain force, even for someone quite neophyte.
Your exhibition is called
Kongo x Soulages
.
What is the link between the art of Kongo and the famous creator of the outrenoir, Pierre Soulages, the French painter living the most side in the world
?
It is an exhibition that I wanted to create.
It is about a meeting between a French artist still alive who produced powerful and very charged works, with the black, a kind of penumbra which is finally a color, the outrenoir.
Soulages
paintings
will merge with this African patina, a patina of earth, of colors.
I discovered by chance this synergy between these works, being with several collectors who collect this artist.
And when I visited his museum, I felt a natural attraction to his paintings.
It is a singular power that I find when I collect and sell African art.
Ultimately, this attraction was the common thread.
In the depth of Soulage's painting, I find the singularity and power of African objects.
We are fortunate to have here in the gallery four paintings by Pierre Soulages, from four different periods: a painting from the 1960s, the historical period, other more recent outrenoire paintings and a painting with colors.
There really is a very strong fusion, but you have to come and see to understand.
Léopold Sédar Senghor, the former Senegalese president, said in 1958
: “
Soulages paintings always remind me of Negro-African paintings, even sculptures…
” Do you have the same impression today, the same feeling
?
Yes, I think there is a connection somewhere.
Moreover, the artist, in these stories or in meetings with certain collector friends, he said that he is a lover of African art.
He is not a huge collector, rather an aesthetic lover of the power of these objects.
Which is not surprising, since we can feel it in this patina.
There is a real strength, a real link between this artist and this art.
Soulages exhibited only once in Africa
, in 1974, in Dakar.
In 1979, he invented the outrenoir.
In your opinion, is there a relationship, a cause and effect
?
Between knowing African art and then going into deep black, the outrenoir
?
I do not know if this desire for deep black came at the end of this exhibition and this meeting.
Besides, I did not know that Soulages had exhibited in Africa.
But, I have testimonials from collectors who are amateurs of African art and amateurs of this artist.
And, in my opinion, it is no coincidence that many tribal art collectors also collect Soulages' works.
Me, I wanted to tell a story, to compare works.
Already my great-uncle, Charles Ratton (1895-1986), from the start of his career, he mixed several regions, several types of objects, surrealism, art brut… the contemporaries of his time.
This exhibition today is also a way to pay tribute to this great artist Pierre Soulages and, at the same time, to confront him with classical African art.
You are a renowned art dealer, young, in your thirties. During these 30 years, a lot of things have happened concerning the knowledge and recognition of the primitive arts and of classical African art in particular
: in 2000, the opening of the Pavillon des Sessions at the Louvre museum. In 2006, the inauguration of the Quai Branly museum. In 2017, French President Macron's speech on the restitution of African works. For you, was this a good decision or did it harm your profession
?
Not at all.
My family, we've been defending this classic African art for almost a hundred years and trying to showcase it, to have exhibitions all over the world.
I think there are no bad things.
We have the right to defend and to preach something, but I think the only problem was the message which was perhaps a little too violent and which carried a bad wave.
But, real amateurs are questioned, but are not shocked by this approach.
In any case, this discussion concerns the public domain and not the private domain.
We collectors and dealers are not affected except bad words.
We all do work on the traceability of these works.
What does the 20th anniversary of the Parcours des mondes represent for you
?
It is an extremely important event.
It is the international event for tribal art, and now the fair has opened up to other disciplines as well.
The Parcours des mondes is the best time for collectors around the world to see a concentration of world-famous dealers.
It is a unique opportunity in the world.
►
Kongo x Soulages, exhibition at the Lucas Ratton gallery, Paris.
► 20th edition of the Parcours des mondes trade fair, from September 7 to 12, in Paris.
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