A painter of history and allegories, Martial Raysse is proud of the quality of his work. Le Grand Jury (2014), Le Lever du jour (2020), La Tombée de la nuit (2020), La Peur and La Paix (2023)...: these are just some of the major paintings he has produced over the last ten years, which this summer are being presented by the Musée Paul-Valéry in Sète, along with a whole range of other works. In his studio in the Dordogne, we discovered the last two on which he had been working for two years. Two huge canvases - the last he says he'll ever do, because it's a job that not only demands an insane amount of energy but can also be dangerous - perched on scaffolding in the manner of the ancients. A real physical ordeal, but two new masterpieces, La Peur and La Paix, two brief words that resonate equally. And they function as a diptych, a mode that the painter favours because he is struck by the fact that every action in life always calls forth its opposite.

Extract from the article by Philippe Piguet published in the N°107 de la revue Art Absolument. Publication date: July 13, 2023.

exhibition's website