Michael Werner Gallery is pleased to announce an exhibition of paintings by the French artist Eugène Leroy (1910-2000). This is the gallery's second project at Mansfield Street in London.
Eugène Leroy's densely impastoed paintings, most often depict heads and figures. Sometimes emerging radiant from thick layers of paint, other times barely discernible amidst the peaks and crevices of color, Eugène Leroy's subjects appear to be sculpted from the paint itself, encapsulating the sensuality of human and natural form. The female figure in particular was a constant source of inspiration and challenge for the artist, though his aim was not merely to depict figures in a realistic manner. Rather, Eugène Leroy's true concern lay in reconciling the physical matter of pigment with the potential of ephemeral light. As the artist stated in an interview in 1992: 'Creating a figure'nd imparting life to it'this level of art belongs most properly to painting.'
Eugène Leroy was born in Tourcoing, France. He lived and worked in northern France, near the Belgian border, for most of his life. His first exhibition with Michael Werner was in 1983. The works of Eugène Leroy are represented in major public and private collections in the United States and Europe, and have been featured in exhibitions at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York; The Power Plant, Toronto; Stedlijk Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven; Museum van Hedendaagse Kunst, Gent; Musée d'art moderne de la ville de Paris; Musée d'art moderne et d'art contemporain, Nice; Sao Paulo Bienal, Brazil; and Documenta IX, Kassel.
The Eugène Leroy exhibition at Mansfield Street, London W1, can be seen by appointment. For more information please contact Michael Werner Gallery at +1 212 988 1623.