Marguerite Burnat-Provins - May 22 through September 14, 2003

When the call to arms rang out in 1914, Marguerite Burnat-Provins (1872-1952) suddenly experienced visions: "I endure them, cringe as I feel them coming and simply cannot help drawing them.” She produced an endless succession of faces and figures, all of which are inhabited by a twofold presence - part man, part animal. These she transcribed by the thousands until her death, using pencil and watercolor and working in frenzied and solitary haste.

In this series, entitled Ma Ville (my town), Burnat-Provins touches upon the darkest zones of creation, in her effort to call forth works that are highly personal, feral and rebellious.

Presented here are the hallucinatory paintings that Marguerite Burnat-Provins - a French-born Swiss artist and writer - produced later in life. The some fifty works on display belong to the Collection Neuve Invention and several private collections. This exhibition has been jointly organized with the Fondation Neumann in Gingins, where a number of this creator’s earlier works are on display: posters, book jackets and decorative art projects, together with paintings and drawings inspired by life in the country.