What an honour it is to chair the third edition of the Jean-Fran\u00e7ois Prat Prize. A prize that carries one man\u02bcs name and his deep-rooted passion for the arts, a prize that defends painting and supports the avant-garde. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This honour falls to the Mus\u00e9e d\u02bcArt Moderne de la Ville de Paris, the Society of Friends of which I have been the president for one year and to which Jean-Fran\u00e7ois was continually a generous contributor. How could one not remember his exceptional intelligence? How could one forget his sparkling vivacity? Jean-Fran\u00e7ois had that exuberant spirit which charms you, dazzles you, literally. He had the elegance of those who reflect on and imagine the world, the future. Art honed the sharpness of his vision. His curiosity spanned, without obstacle, cinema, baroque music as well as an aesthetic and political battle like that of Pierre Boulez. And collecting art revealed, I believe, his insatiable appetite for learning. Learning to feel, learning to understand his era and the transformations that it brings. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
While writing these lines, I was picturing Jean-Fran\u00e7ois\u02bc regard, his eye as a collector who tirelessly searches for beauty, revelations, ideas. Emotion is about knowledge and instinct, nature or nurture. I was imagining the dazzling speed of his reasoning which must have, of course, guided his choices. From Joaqu\u00edn Torres-Garc\u00eda, or Lucio Fontana, Jean Dubuffet and John Baldessari to Matthew Day Jackson or Erwin Olaf. A collection is always both a collection of stories and a personal monograph. Jean-Fran\u00e7ois and Marie-Aline Prat\u02bcs collection is an intellectual adventure guided by high standards, audacity and an unfailing fidelity to the artists. This brings to my mind Martin Barr\u00e9, a major figure in abstraction who was for a long time underestimated, and the consistent fervour with which Jean-Fran\u00e7ois defended his work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jean-Fran\u00e7ois advanced fearlessly, brushing aside conformism and censure. He thought of artists as trailblazers, pioneers and lived next to, right next to, the works of art. Everywhere, in his flat, in his office, his collection surrounded him. And I am certain that he must have travelled afar while contemplating the works. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This year, the selection of the three artists shortlisted for the Jean-Fran\u00e7ois Prat Prize is international, just like the outlook the French law firm Bredin Prat has on the world. Rezi Van Lankveld (Netherlands), Zander Blom (South Africa) and Stelios Faitakis (Greece) present works of great depth through the ideas they carry and which are fascinating in their realisation. And confirm the extreme vigour of contemporary painting. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
What a fantastic idea this prize is! Whole-hearted thanks and gratitude must be extended to Jean-Fran\u00e7ois Prat\u02bcs partners and family. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Christian Langlois-Meurinne is President of Ancelle & associ\u00e9s SAS, managing partner of IDI and President of the Society of friends of Mus\u00e9e d\u02bcart Moderne de la ville de Paris. Graduated from Ecole Polytechnique & Harvard business school, he has thirty years experience in investment industry through IDI which he bought in 1987. Previously, he was executive director in charge of chemical and textile industries at the Government Department of Industry from 1979 to 1982. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
What an honour it is to chair the third edition of the Jean-Fran\u00e7ois Prat Prize. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"gabarit-temoignage.php","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1257","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n