Paris, France — He was one of the Young French Painters, an itinerant art show that traveled to the United States in 1959 where he created a sensation and would earn international recognition. Alain de la Bourdonnaye was 29-years-old when he was chosen to be part of the exhibition by Bernard Dorival, the curator of the Musée national d’Art moderne (France’s National Modern Art Museum).  Galerie Berès, which stately sits on the Left Bank of the Seine, is celebrating his work and that of his contemporaries and friends in a serene show entitled Au Temps des Abstraits which can be roughly translated as In the Days of the Abstract Painters. Alain de la Bourdonnaye was trained by the great Hungarian abstract painter Árpád Szenes and was linked to the great players in the abstract art world including Vieira da Silva, Jean-Paul Riopelle, Olivier Debré, Zao Wou-Ki, Nicolas de Staël and Georges Mathieu.  

Painter, engraver, de la Bourdonnaye was also a prominent illustrator of books and in the late 1970s would turn exclusively to this medium. In the 1960s he affirmed his experimental side working with gouaches and paper cuttings. His paintings, illustrated books and bas-reliefs are all being shown at the Galerie Berès alongside works by his closest friends. The artist’s works can be found in the collections of France’s National Library, The Library of Congress and the Modern Art Museum of the City of Paris among others. The exhibition runs until June 30th. ©Trish Valicenti for The Gourmet Gazette. 25 Quai Voltaire, 75007 Paris/35, rue de Beaune, 75007 Paris. Tel: +33 (0)1 42 61 27 91. https://www.galerieberes.com/