A Journey from Surrealism to Abstraction Through the Mystical Paintings of Jacqueline Lamba

TEFAF Meet the Experts are interactive conversations around works of art presented at TEFAF. We hope these conversations encourage visitors to further engage with the incredible objects at the fair and learn from our vast network of knowledgeable experts. Jacqueline Lamba was André Breton’s L’Amour fou, to quote the title of the poetic essay dedicated to her by the founder of Surrealism. She studied at the École des Arts Décoratifs and went on to devote her whole life to painting. She married Breton only a few months after meeting the poet in 1934, who described her at the time as being “scandalously beautiful”. Lamba took part in the surrealist group exhibitions, such as the Exposition surréaliste d’objets at Galerie Charles Ratton in 1936, where she presented her object-poems. Her many travels, including from Paris to New York and Mexico, brought her in contact with numerous figures of Surrealism, developing lifelong friendships with Frida Kahlo and Dora Maar. Beginning in America and continuing on after returning to France in 1955, Lamba’s paintings moved away from surrealism and she adopted a more abstract approach in which the influence of Picasso was apparent. She found her definitive style in the 1960s, painting light and evoking the landscapes she saw around the village in Alpes-de- Haute-Provence where she spent her summers. In this Meet the Expert, our expert, Antonin Rocard will discuss Untitled, 1978, an artwork created by Jacqueline Lamba and her movement from Surrealism to Abstraction. This work is part of the «Nuages» (clouds) series developed between the 1960’s and 1980’s. Untitled, 1978 is an oil on wood, on which these watery clouds vibrate, made out of brushstrokes and curved lines. These two elements create a unique depth carved by a dark green and blue color palette and highlighted through the reflections sketched by some lighter touches. It is all about movement. An inherent movement of nature followed peacefully by the artist. On the canvas, Lamba suggested skies sprinkled with spots and points of light: “The secret, she wrote, would be to capture every form on the canvas together with its light, in other words at the very moment when light becomes form. It would be like seeing a rainbow in the middle of the night.”