Last weekend, I went to see the Pierre Bonnard exhibition at the NGV (I heard even Jay Chou visited a while ago). Initially, I was drawn in by the intriguing visual presentation of the exhibition. I was a bit worried at first since I wasn't familiar with the artist and hadn't done any homework – I only knew he was a friend of Matisse and a master of Impressionism. However, it turned out to be even better than expected. It took over two hours to see everything, and I was delighted. Upon a closer look, you'd notice the exhibition visuals were derived from elements of Pierre's interior decoration works, and the narrative structure was thoughtfully crafted, connecting Pierre's works from different periods. It didn't feel like just viewing the artworks; there was an exploration of creative pursuits, life, and the interaction and inspiration among friends of the period, which was far from boring.
One aspect of the exhibition that really struck me was how Pierre came across as a vibrant, creative individual, not just an artistic symbol in the annals of history.
He and his artist friends founded the Nabis, exploring new forms of art together. A recurring theme in Nabi's creations revolves around life – "how to discover new things in the monotony of daily life", leading to themed "compositions" where everyone would create works in their own style. It subjectively reminded me of university clubs and the Jiaxu Club in "Dream of the Red Chamber". Due to these explorations, his paintings often featured the streets of Paris and domestic life. He also had a fondness for painting cats, and I couldn't help but look for the cats in the artworks while viewing the exhibition.
He didn’t place art on a pedestal; apart from exploring, he also attempted to commercialize his creative works, collaborating with galleries and taking on commercial illustration and poster commissions to achieve financial independence. When Kodak released their camera, he got one to play with. His level of photography impressed with its narrative composition and clever perspectives. He also collaborated with his brother-in-law, who was into music, to create music picture books for children and design sets for films.
Besides viewing the exhibition, I was also curious to observe how Melburnians engage with art shows. The moment I stepped in, I was greeted by the unimaginable sight of old, young, and everyone in between viewing the exhibition together. There was no sense of distance between the people and the art; it was all about looking and enjoying. This was the first time I encountered such an atmosphere, and it was genuinely moving.
After the exhibition, I looked up and found out that the exhibition design was commissioned to an architect & designer, India Mahdavi. Her primary work involves designing hotels, restaurants, and retail stores, and before this exhibition, she had also designed for Design Parade Toulon and Homo Faber in Venice. She has a strong sense of colour, which explains why she was able to seamlessly integrate the charming colours from Pierre's works into the exhibition design. Oh, and by the way, you can find lots of lovely photos by searching for the keywords NGV and Pierre Bonnard on Little Red Book (Xiaohongshu).