Current Exhibition: Americans in Paris: Artists Working in Postwar France, 1946-1962
Date: March 2, 2024 - July 20, 2024
Location: Grey Art Museum, New York
Shinkichi Tajiri is part of the beautiful exhibition ‘Americans in Paris: Artists Working in Postwar France, 1946-1962’, currently on display at the Grey Art Museum, New York. The exhibition, curated by Lynn Gumpert and Debra Bricker Balken, delves into the lives and works of American artists who resided in Paris from 1946 to 1962, a period when the city served as a global hub for artistic innovation. After World War II, hundreds of American artists, many of whom were veterans benefiting from the GI Bill, and others who self-funded their stays, moved to Paris. The exhibition showcases over 130 pieces, including paintings, sculptures, photographs, films, and textiles from nearly 70 artists.
Tajiri’s works featured in the exhibition include the film ‘The Vipers’ (1955) and his sculptures ‘Lament for Lady’ (1953), ‘Wounded Knee’ (1953), and ‘Figure, Personage’ (1956).
On Thursday April 25th, Anthology Film Archives in conjunction with ‘Americans in Paris: Artists Working in Postwar France, 1946-1962’, will host a special program for Shinkichi’s films. The screening includes four of Shinkichi’s short films, a s well as the great Dutch documentary filmmaker Johan van der Keuken’s 1962 film portrait of Shinkichi and Carmen D’Avino’s 1950 documentary ‘Vernissage of American Artists’, which provides glimpses of Tajiri and several other American artists in Paris at the time.
All the films in this program, with the exception of ‘Vernissage of American Artists’, are screened courtesy of the Eye Museum, Amsterdam.
Information:
Thursday, April 25, 7:30–8:35 pm
Anthology Film Archives | 32 Second Avenue, NYC
Shinkichi Tajiri:
THE VIPERS, 1955, 9.5 min, 16mm
MAD NEST, 1955, 4.5 min, 16mm
FERDI, 1955, 12 min, 16mm-to-digital. Co-directed by Baird Bryant.
BICYCLES, 1960, 5 min, 16mm-to-digital
Johan van der Keuken:
TAJIRI, 1962, 12 min, 16mm-to-digital
Carmen D’Avino:
VERNISSAGE OF AMERICAN ARTISTS, 1950, 18 min, 16mm-to-digital
Total running time: ca. 65 min.
Selected Press:
‘Lament for Lady’ (1953), Collection Giotta & Ryu Tajiri.
Sculpture left: ‘Figure, Personage’ (1956), Collection Bonnefanten, Maastricht, NL Installation view of ''Americans in Paris: Artists Working in Postwar France, 1946–1962.''
Photo: David Heald. Courtesy Grey Art Museum, New York University
Sculpture: ‘Wounded Knee’ (1953), Collection Bonnefanten, Maastricht, NL. Installation view of ''Americans in Paris: Artists Working in Postwar France, 1946–1962.''
Photo: David Heald. Courtesy Grey Art Museum, New York University