JonOne: A Tempting Canvas
24 June – 3 September 2023
For several years now, Roubaix has embraced the Street Art dynamic, holding an annual urban art festival in the town. With a wide scope, the event includes musical and urban dance performances, as well as commissioning urban artworks that are often monumental in scale. The museum already contributes to the festival, as a source of inspiration for the artists. Australian artist Jimmy C. paid tribute to the Camille Claudel collection held at La Piscine by painting a striking portrait of the sculptor, based on the famous photograph by César, on a disused gable in the town centre, and a portrait of Auguste Rodin, in the station carpark, which echoes the details of a bust by Camille Claudel held in our collection. The 2023 edition of URBX will highlight American street artist JonOne, who has set up his French studio in the Épeule district, a stone’s throw from La Piscine. His commitment to the town was particularly well illustrated in summer 2022, when a work painted on a large metal shutter was installed on one of the external walls of the museum, which can be seen from Rue des Champs.
Both spectacular and meaningful – it is painted on what was once the door to the Jouret factory, which is now an artists’ incubator on Rue de l’Hospice in Roubaix – the work demonstrates the museum’s openness to a wider audience and to artists who are renewing painting as a practice. In line with this shared vision, La Piscine has invited JonOne to present his latest foray into the world of applied arts, following his recent and highly publicised earthenware creations in collaboration with Faïencerie de Gien. A colourful surprise!
Curator: Bruno Gaudichon
The design was made possible thanks to generous support from the paints distributed by Tollens.
JonOne, Graffiti made as part of the XU 2015 festival on a section of rue de l’Hospice (Jouret establishments) and recently installed in the administrative entrance to the museum, rue des Champs. Photo: A. Leprince
