ART CITIES: Paris-Martial Raysse

Martial Raysse, a pioneer of French Pop Art, creates images that transcend the banality of everyday life. Strongly influenced by advertising, he turns away from realistic art to reveal the underlying vitality of everyday objects and images. His thinking evolved throughout his career and took different forms: painting, neon, assemblage and video. A member of the New Realism movement in the early 1960s, Martial Raysse quickly gained recognition for his innovative art and represented France at the 1966 Venice Biennale. Questioning his interest in the pop world following the events of May 1968, he quickly turned away from ‘formal aestheticism’.

By Efi Michalarou
Photo: Galerie Templon Archive

The exhibition “Martial Raysse – Recent Works” in Paris represents a major cultural moment in the international art calendar for early 2026, this presentation marks the Templon gallery’s first dedicated exhibition to the French artist’s newest paintings and stands as a celebration of both his enduring creative energy and Galerie Templon’s 60th anniversary. (TEMPLON)

“Recent Works” assembles nearly thirty paintings produced over the last decade, including several monumental canvases that emphasize the breadth and ambition of Raysse’s late practice. This is the artist’s second major Paris exhibition in ten years, following his 2014 retrospective at the Centre Pompidou.

The selection affirms Raysse’s persistent dialogue with the history of painting and his ability to synthesize contemporary experience with classical references. Works such as “Le Grand Jury” (2022), “La Peur” (2023), and “La Paix” (2023) feature prominently. The dramatic scale of these canvases evokes the tradition of history painting while addressing resonant themes—memory, conflict, and the fragile promise of peace.

Across the gallery’s spaces, Raysse’s compositions are populated by allegorical figures, expressive faces, and symbolic details that operate on multiple interpretive levels. Elements such as a black cat, floral motifs, or subtle incursions of violence suggest layered narratives that invite viewers to contemplate both personal and collective tensions. These “luminous apocalypses,” as some critics have described them, reflect a world in motion—simultaneously chaotic and full of imaginative possibility.

Significantly, Raysse’s recent work maintains a conversation with the Old Masters, echoing influences from canonical painters like Jean Fouquet and Nicolas Poussin, and recalling Picasso’s chapel panels at Vallauris, yet doing so without mere imitation. This rich intertextuality underscores his enduring commitment to painting as a vehicle for both aesthetic inquiry and cultural reflection.

“Recent Works” at Galerie Templon presents Martial Raysse not merely as a historical figure of 20th-century art, but as an active and vital voice in 21st-century painting. The exhibition’s combination of scale, narrative density and historical awareness affirms Raysse’s unique capacity to merge formal rigor with expressive freedom—inviting audiences to reconsider the possibilities of paint ©and imagery in a complex world.

Photo: Martial Raysse, La Peur, 2023, Acrylic on canvas, 300 × 400 cm — 118 × 157 1/2 in, © Martial Raysse, Courtesy the artist and Galerie Templon

Info : Galerie Templon, 28 rue du Grenier-Saint-Lazare, Paris, France, Duration: 10/1-14/3/2026, Days & Hours: Tue-Sat 11:00-19:000, www.templon.com/