Mathieu [antikvár]

«Quentin», 1971 Gouache and collage on paper, 19y2" X 25V2" Collection of the Artist L .t is difHcult to remain indifferent toward the work of Georges Mathieu. The reactions it has provoked ranging from passionate admiration to downright rejection are not matters of simple aesthetic preference. Intimately linked to the life-adventure of the artist, the painting ignites sensations, incites sentiments that resemble those felt toward beings of flesh and blood: in general the critiques, ostensibly of Mathieu, verge on becoming acts of faith, as if the judgment of such a work entailed a personal risk. And the confusion, almost inevitable, of the work with the man, of the ethic and the aesthetic, brings on a number of ambiguities which, no doubt, it is too early to hope to dissipate. And yet, must all commentary be limited to the polemic and the stance? I do not think so. Georges Mathieu's work has asserted itself to such an extent, throughout the world, that its continued defense seems unnecessary. It merits better: beyond academic