Cover | Pierre Antoniucci

Figure assise sur fond jaune (Figure seated on yellow background) (mixed media on canvas, 2002. Courtesy of Modernism, San Francisco.) French artist Pierre Antoniucci draws from sources ranging from antiquity to modernism, and melds these together. The first U.S. exhibition of Antoniucci’s paintings, Question de Temps (Matter of Time), features two major bodies of work from the past 10 years, both examining the theme of time, yet via different paths. “Figure assise sur fond jaune” is part of the second body of work, which explores the theme of portraiture. “It’s the passing of time,” Antoniucci says, “that makes these figures fade, shrink, lighten, and disperse—it minimalizes them, turning them into ghosts or angels.” The first part of the exhibition features paintings which take inspiration from French author Alain Borer, and three characters engaging in a “race against time” on hoof, bicycle, and Bugatti. Question de Temps (Matter of Time), runs through July 6, at Modernism, 685 Market St., San Francisco. For info: (415) 541-0461 or modernisminc.com.

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