Dazzling Dufy | Raoul Dufy Exhibition

Raoul Dufy (1877-1953) was one of the greats of 20th century art - his name can be spoken of in the same breath as giants such as Picasso, Braque and Matisse. Yet Dufy is not so widely known in the UK as he is in other countries around the world. It maybe because Dufy’s work could not be easily categorised by post war British art critics. Indeed Dufy could not be put in any box. He was constantly innovating and experimenting with new materials and effects to deliver works that were sophisticated and joyous in equal measure. Dazzling Dufy, which will be on show at Goldmark from 22 February 2025, will capture Dufy’s spirt and energy. Mary Alexander, one of the finest Dufy experts in the world, will give a short talk on and answer questions about the artist from 2pm at the opening.

Dazzling Dufy is a suitable name for the artist as he served up a luminous feast throughout his working life. Dufy was a key player in twentieth century avant garde art, design, literary and musical circles in Paris. Dufy’s charismatic personality, wit and curiosity about the world was infectious. His imagination and technical virtuosity across a range of media including painting, murals, book illustration, textiles and fashion, ceramics and theatre set design defy conventional art historical categorisation. Dufy moved with seeming effortlessness between small-scale book illustration to the gigantic 600 metre murals at the 1937 Paris exposition. Throughout his life, colour and light were his passion and he commented, “In my painting there is neither ground, nor background, nor sky: there are colours whose relationships create space and that is all”.

His early experiments in colour field painting were ahead of their time and not fully understood by later critics and historians caught up in the obsession with post war abstract art. The wonderful French artist Sonia Delauney - who shared Dufy’s polymath genius - commented in 1927, “Dufy’s fabrics were like a ray of sunlight on a gloomy day: they were embraced by the fashion industry, giving it a note of fun and spontaneity that had not been seen before”.

Dufy himself more modestly said that the fashion-conscious wearers of his fabrics would have fallen about laughing in front of his paintings!

When Gertrude Stein wrote in the 1940s that 'Dufy is pleasure', she was not referring to superficiality but to his deep human empathy. Mary Alexander, who lectures regularly throughout the UK, Europe, Australia and New Zealand, will refer to this in her talk and reflect on the coded message of Dufy’s 1937 Paris murals three years ahead of the Nazi occupation of the city.

Dazzling Dufy, a stunning collection of original prints and posters by Raoul Dufy is on display at Goldmark in Uppingham from 22 February - 21 March. Admission is free and all works are for sale. There will be a walk through film of the exhibition on Goldmark TV from 21 February. So mark your calendars and visit Goldmark for a sparkling celebration of art and creativity.

Date: Saturday 22nd February 2025

Time: 1pm for fizz and a light lunch.

Lecture by Mary Alexander 2pm

Please RSVP by email or by telephone on 01572 821 424.

Call for more details.