For Frieze Masters 2015, Luxembourg & Dayan follow in the footsteps of Iris Clert (1917-1986), presenting a Microsalon exhibition in homage to the intrepid and eccentric gallerist, who unveiled her cutting-edge exhibitions both in her gallery in Paris and often in other galleries abroad. The presentation will offer a focused survey of the revolutionary programme instituted by Clert from the late 1950s and through the 1960s. Following numerous gallery exhibitions mounted by Luxembourg & Dayan that sought to illuminate often-overlooked practices and aspects of European art of the sixties, Microsalon: An Homage to Iris Clert will focus on a piece of art history that was shaped by a visionary dealer.
Since its inauguration exactly sixty years ago, in 1955, the Galerie Iris Clert became known for supporting some of the most influential postwar artists in the early stages of their careers. Long before the institutionalisation of performance art and installation, Clert's small one-room gallery was a hub for avant-garde activity, showcasing seminal actions and environments such as Yves Klein's Le Vide (featuring an empty gallery), and Arman's Le Plein (which inversely filled the entirety of the gallery with found objects).
Microsalon: An Homage to Iris Clert will bring together examples of bodies of work featured in Clert's innovative program: an early blue monochrome by Yves Klein; examples of Arman's Poubelles - discarded objects encased in glass boxes - as well his Accumulations; Lucio Fontana's Concetti Spaziali; Raymond Hains's Seita sculptures that mimicked enlarged matchbooks; a grouping of works by pioneers of kinetic art, including sculptures by Jean Tinguely, Takis, Jesús Rafael Soto and Pol Bury; a risqué painting by American artist William Copley that was exhibited in the artist's first solo exhibition at Galerie Iris Clert, alongside early works by Enrico Baj, César and Martial Raysse.
A display of archival material and ephemera relating to the gallery's far-reaching activities will be included in the presentation. A publication inspired by iris.time - the satirical newspaper that Clert would publish and hand out in her openings - will accompany the exhibition, featuring a new essay by art critic Robert Pincus-Witten that recalls his experiences of working in Galerie Iris Clert.
Grafting the Galerie Iris Clert into Regent's Park this Autumn, Luxembourg & Dayan's presentation will offer visitors a glimpse into Clert's prescient eye and audacious spirit.