David Hockney and André Derain at the Pompidou

Thursday October 5 was mainly cloudy with a few outbursts of rain in the late afternoon.  High of 18C.  After breakfast, we walked down to the Centre Pompidou and spent most of the afternoon at two excellent exhibits.  The first was the David Hockney retrospective which opened just as the artist turned 80.  It was a very comprehensive exhibit featuring drawings, prints, video installations, photographs and painting.  It retraced his work from his early paintings in his Bradford, England schooldays to the monumental "joiners" he created at his Yorkshire studio.  What is striking is Hockney's interest in modern technologies for the production of his images.  Hockney also has had a life-long focus of bringing photography and painting together.   It was an excellent and thorough survey of his work.

Portrait of My Father, 1955

The Cha Cha that was Danced in the Early Hours of the 24th, March 1961, 1961

"The Drinking scene", from a Rake's Progress : A Graphic Tale Comprising Sixteen Etchings. 1961-63

The Hypnotist, 1963

 In 1964, Hockney moved to Los Angeles.  He started a series of paintings of swimming pools in   acrylic.

He returned to London in 1968 and from 1973-75 lived in Paris.  He moved back to LA in 1976.  He also most recently spent eight years living in England (mostly in East Yorkshire) from 2005- 2013, when he again returned to LA.  He has a home and studio in London and two residences in California, a home in Nichols Canyon and an office in West Hollywood.

The Sunbather 1966

A Bigger Splash 1967

Portrait of an Artist 1972 (Pool with two figures)

Hockney embarked on a series of Double Portraits from around 1968-77.  His last one was a lovely portrait of his parents, done a year before his father died.

My Parents 1977

Le Parc des Sources, Vichy 1970

Mr. and Mrs. Clark and Percy 1970-71

Christopher Isherwood and Don Bachardy 1968

Rubber Ring Floating in a Swimming Pool, 1971

A Large Diver, 1978

There was a room of self-portraits.  For a period of time starting in the early 1980s, Hockney started the day by painting a self-portrait.

Self Portrait

 Hockney also did a series of photo montages using polaroid pictures.

Gregory Swimming, Los Angeles, March 31st, 1982

Billy & Audrey Wilder, Los Angeles, April 1982

 Hockney's house in the Hollywood Hills inspired a series of works.

Large Interior, Los Angeles, 1988

Nichols Canyon, 1980

Garden 2015

What struck us was how prolific, accomplished and innovative Hockney is.  His different styles,  experimentation with technology, and great colour sense were inspiring.

The second exhibit featured André Derain (1880-1954), who played an important role in the emergence of Fauvism and Cubism, two of the avant-garde art movements of the early 20th century.  Derain and Matisse were the founders of Fauvism.

Most of the exhibit focussed on the first decade of his career from 1904-1914.  He moved to magic realism and his later paintings look very different than his earlier work.

He also took photographs, that he used as inspirations for his paintings.

Le Bal a Suresnes 1903

Le Pecq, hiver 1904-1905 

Arbre, paysage au bord d'une rivière 1905
 

Le Séchange des voiles (Bateaux de pêche) 1905

Henri Matisse 1905

Portrait d'Henri Matisse 

Pont sur le Riou (Paysage a L'Estaque) 1906

La Musique 1904-05

           Le Pont de Londres hiver 1906-07

                      Hyde Park 1906-1907

Big Ben 1906

Les Deux Seurs 1914

La Chase, (L'Age d'or (Paradis terrestréll) 1938-44

After the two exhibits, we stopped at Au Coeur Du Marais for a quick bite.  It was then onto the Marithé Francois Girbaud travelling pop up store, which just happened to be in town for three days, as it was in late November of last year when we were last in Paris.  The two designers, Marithé Bachellerie and Francois Girbaud, started the label in 1972 and for years had stores in Paris, Antwerp and even New York for a while.  They went into bankruptcy in 2012, but have reinvented themselves as a travelling pop-up and now have an on-line store again.   We had a quick introduction to Marithé at the pop-up.  Alain bought a birthday pair of pants and I bought a sweater.

Rack of clothes 

Alain modelling a pair of pants (slightly different than the ones he bought).
The designers use interesting fabrics and their designs are awesome

We then met our friend Judy for an apéro at La Belle Hortense, a wine bar in the Marais.  We sat next to a young couple who had just moved to Paris, and her parents who were visiting from Detroit.  They took a picture of us that was photobombed by the guy sitting at the next table.

At La Belle Hortense for an apéro

 After our apero, we checked out a few restaurants in the Marais, but one was full and another closed for a few weeks.  We decided instead to head back to our neighbourhood and eat at Le Refuge du Passé, which is just two doors down from our apartment.  It turned out to be a good choice.

Grace and Judy getting ready for the feast

Appetizer of smoked swordfish-- very nicely done

Cassoulet (our waiter said it was cooked for six hours)

The Diners

Grace (with her very tender beef dish) and Judy with her cassoulet

Alain and I shared a tangerine sorbet with real grapefruit slices for dessert

In the course of our dinner, we noticed that there was no music, and the only noise, the customers chatting.  What a change from the deafening music in so many North American restaurants.  It was a great atmosphere and coupled with the European style of letting one enjoy the meal for as long as one wanted, it makes for a most enjoyable experience.

After dinner, it was very nice to have to only go two doors down to our apartment and crash.