César “Sacred Anarchy”

Salon 94 (3 E 89th St.)

This event has ended.

Iconic and iconoclastic. Prolific and destructive. Reverential and rebellious. “Loved and detested,” according to his obituary in Le Monde, the French newspaper. What distinguishes César (1921–1998) from other giants of postwar art is the dichotomous, dangerous dynamism of his oeuvre. Within his sculptures, there are antithetical forces at work—pushing and pulling against the modern tradition, the French cultural establishment, and the nascent mass consumerism of his time. A founding member of the 20th-century Nouveau Réalisme movement, César looms large in the art canon. His masterpieces remain ever relevant, offering fresh perspectives.

Reveling in the paradoxes of his practice, Salon 94 in collaboration with Fondation César and Dayan Rohatyn is pleased to present César: Sacred Anarchy. Celebrating the centenary of the artist’s birth, this survey exhibition ranges from his Human Imprints from the 1960s and Expansions from the 1970s to his Championnes and Compressions conceived throughout his life. Since the start of César’s career, the complex and performative nature of his practice has captured the attention of even the most suspect of viewers, which included James Baldwin. Underpinning César: Sacred Anarchy is Baldwin’s articulation of César’s nuanced contributions.