Festival
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As the movement celebrates its 150th anniversary this year, the Normandy Impressionist festival is this year filled with a host of exciting contemporary offerings. On this occasion, “Libé” gives the floor to several artists.
Anachronistic, impressionism? As we celebrate the 150th anniversary of the movement born in the 19th century, a phenomenon so popular that it attracts crowds and a certain weariness can set in with regard to it, a new generation of artists is re-enchanting it today, with a fresh perspective and current techniques. For its fifth edition, among 150 events, the Normandy Impressionist festival deploys from Havre to Caen, from Rouen to Yvetot, from Deauville to Ecausseville, superb proposals where painting, installation and photography flirt with the pioneering spirit of the painters of light, modern life and a little chromatic touch.
In this year of celebration, the question of the legacy of the movement arises. “We asked the artists the question: what is impressionism for you?” explains director Philippe Platel, appointed in 2021, who anchors his first major edition in the contemporary by inviting emerging artists and super stars, such as David Hockney and Bob Wilson. “Monet said: “What I paint is what is between me and the cathedral of Rouen.” Just like Monet, today’s artists recreate an environment, they transform art into an experience.”
But if they draw energy from the audacity of 19th century painters, if impressionism allows them to connect to nature and take time, their prism is resolutely contemporary. “All their answers pass through a very current filter dyed
