Gilbert & George. Pictures of utopias.

This summer, the Fernand Léger National Museum offers visitors a total immersion in two spectacular 20th century works. In a visually striking contemporary echo, the plastic power of Les Constructeurs, painted by Fernand Léger in 1950, meets the complexity of the monumental triptych, CLASS WAR, MILITANT, GATEWAY, created in 1986 by the British artist couple Gilbert & George (born in 1943 and 1942 respectively). Inventors of an artistic language combining the gravity of the subject matter and the exuberant freedom of the images, in the extension of Pop Art, Gilbert & George are in line with the painted work of the master of the avant-garde: their wonder at the daily spectacle of the city, their political commitment which leads them to retranscribe the transformations of society, their evolution towards an increasingly asserted monumentality, and their conviction of the need for art for all are as many common points which unite these artists across the generations. The symbolic force and the epic breath that runs through their works testify to their activism and their hope for the future, and give their images a universal dimension.
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