Pierre Alechinsky, Arman, Pol Bury, Robert Doisneau, Jean Dubuffet, Erró, Wen Fang,  Sam Francis, He An, Julio Le Parc, Jean-Luc Moulène, Angela Palmer, Robert Rauschenberg, Niki de Saint Phalle, Arslan Sukan, Takis, Jean Tinguely, Victor Vasarely, Heidi Wood

CURATOR : Ann Hindry

Reading these two words, “art” and “collection,” one immediately thinks of asset of handsome historic cars. Such a collection
does indeed exist. However, what is less well known is the very strong link between Renault and the art of its day. Begun in 1967, Renault’s rich collection of modern and contemporary art recently celebrated fifty years of existence. Founded on a highly innovative principle of active collaboration with artists at a time when contemporary art was a minority interest, it now comprises over three hundred works from different countries, representing different practices, made by many significant figures from the history of recent art. Its unusual structure is constituted by large ensembles, series, and solitary works. Many of these were made on-site. This diversity is what explains its historical interest. It was built up over time, in the course of the everyday life of artists. Some of them were attracted by the world of industry and the discovery of new techniques and materials, the possibility of using them for art, but also by the different dimension of human experience that this world represented.
The Renault Art Collection now features several generations of artists: the major figures from the early days, such as Jean Dubuffet, and Victor Vasarely, and then the following generations with Jean Tinguely, Arman, Robert Rauschenberg, and then Erró, Alechinsky and later Jean-Luc Moulène, and finally the younger generation from Turkey, China and Australia, to name but a few. The exhibition presents a selective sequence from 1967 to today, filling the Foundation space, featuring significant works from this most unusual adventure.