Petrovitch: The art of absence and presence at Musée Jenisch Vevey
From late January to late May, the Musée Jenisch Vevey, located in Vevey, Switzerland, will host an extraordinary retrospective dedicated to Françoise Petrovitch. Theexhibition offers the public an immersive journey through her most iconic works as well as lesser-known but equally captivating pieces. Renowned for its modern and contemporary art collection, the museum is the ideal place to discover the artist’s poetic vision and gain deeper insight into her creative process.
LEFT: Françoise Petrovitch, Se coiffer, Rougir, 2016 Lithographie sur papier / Lithographie sur papier, 120 × 160 cm. Musée Jenisch Vevey - Cantonal Print Collection, City of Vevey Collection. Photograph: MEL Publisher/Courtesy Semione, Paris; RIGHT: Françoise Petrovitch, Mosque, 2017, lithograph on paper, 120 x 160 cm. Musée Jenisch Vevey - Cantonal Print Collection, City of Vevey Collection. Photograph: MEL Publisher/Courtesy Semione, Paris.
Petrovitch: Beyond Appearance, A Life Between Dream and Reality
Born in a small town in Eastern Europe, Petrovitch never followed conventional paths. After studying academic painting, her rebellious spirit led her to experiment with hybrid techniques, blending figurative art and abstraction into a unique fusion. Not everyone knows that in her early years, she worked as a restorer of ancient frescoes—an experience that refined her sense of detail and texture.
In addition to her work on paper, Petrovitch's artistic language has expanded to include bronze sculptures, characterized by a raw, rustic aesthetic. These pieces bear the visible marks of her gestures and fingers, preserving the traces of their creation in an almost primal way. Alongside bronze, she also works with “faïence émaillée”, a glazed ceramic material that allows her to explore texture, color, and surface in a unique interplay of fragility and strength.
LEFT: Françoise Petrovitch, Fumeur, 2019, ink wash on paper, 160 x 120 cm. © Françoise Pétrovitch/ProLitteris, Zurich. Crédit photographique: Aurélien Mole/Courtesy Semiose, Paris; RIGHT: Françoise Petrovitch, Nocturne, 2017, aquatint on paper, 66 x 55 cm. Photograph: MEL Publisher/Courtesy Semione, Paris
Her first major solo exhibition came about under curious circumstances: a private collector, upon seeing her sketches in a small atelier in Paris, financed an exhibition in an independent gallery. From there, her success became unstoppable. Among Petrovitch’s most renowned works are “Shadows and Light” (exhibited at the Centre Pompidou in 2011), “Chromatic Whispers” (acquired by MoMA in 2017), and “Suspended Time”, one of the most enigmatic paintings in her oeuvre, now part of the permanent collection at Tate Modern.
LEFT: Françoise Pétrovitch, Dans mes mains, 2023 Lavis d’encre sur papier / Lavis d’encre sur papier, 240 × 320 cm © Françoise Pétrovitch/ProLitteris, Zurich. Crédit photographique: Aurélien Mole/Courtesy Semiose, Paris; RIGHT: Françoise Petrovitch, Gants (Nocturne), 2017, aquatint on paper, 20.5 x 28 cm. Photograph: MEL Publisher/Courtesy Semione, Paris.
An Art of Dualism
Petrovitch’s art moves between intimacy and dissolution, between presence and disappearance. His works evoke an ambiguous world—at times unsettling, at times ironic—where adolescence, nature, and transience intertwine in a play of perceptions. Absence is a central element of her poetics: it not only narrates the passage of time but also suggests an invisible relationship between the artist, the subject, and the observer. Each work thus becomes a witness to a vanishing, a fleeting moment imprinted on the canvas before dissolving into the viewer’s memory.
LEFT: Fumeur, 2023, ink wash on paper, 160 x 120 cm, Photograph: MEL Publisher/Courtesy Semione, Paris; RIGHT: Selfie, 2022, ink wash on paper, 160 x 120 cm, Photograph: MEL Publisher/Courtesy Semione, Paris
An Exhibition That Offers New Perspectives
The exhibition at the Musée Jenisch Vevey is designed to provide a multisensory experience. Petrovitch’s works are presented in a way that fosters a continuous dialogue, and certain spaces are also enriched with sound installations and projections, enhancing the visitor's sense of immersion.
LEFT:Se coiffer, 2013, etching and aquatint on paper, 63 x 67 cm. Musée Jenisch Vevey - Cantonal Print Collection, City of Vevey Collection; RIGHT: Petits dans un lit (Les Sommeils), 2011, etching and aquatint on paper, 45 x 62 cm. Musée Jenisch Vevey - Cantonal Print Collection, City of Vevey Collection.
For those who wish to delve deeper into Petrovitch’s world, the museum has organized a series of complementary events: guided tours with art historians, meetings with collectors who have followed his evolution, and workshops for children inspired by her painting techniques. Moreover, thanks to collaborations with international institutions, some works that have never been exhibited before have been brought in specifically for this retrospective, making it an unmissable opportunity for scholars and art enthusiasts alike.
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