anonymous-famous

“In the future, everyone will have the right to 15 minutes of worldwide fame”, predicted American artist Andy Warhol, figurehead of pop art, in 1968. Five years later, Raymond E. Waydelich discovered the diary of Lydia Jacob, a long-deceased dressmaker whose dream was to be a great fashion designer. From then on, he signed his works with both their names. Lydia Jacob, unknown during her lifetime, became posthumously famous, even representing France at the 1978 Venice Biennale with her alter ego Waydelich.

Christoph Hohler also brings his characters out of anonymity. He shows snapshots of people photographed live or on television, who only take on importance in his paintings. These characters develop a dynamic of their own; taken out of their original context, they tell a new story.

The exhibition at the Fondation Fernet-Branca features not only Christophe Hohler's large-scale paintings of men, his trademark for decades, but also a lesser-known facet of the artist: his paintings of flowers and trees, a reminiscence of his childhood in Alsace's Sundgau region. Other thematic universes are boats/fishing and music, which also inspired Raymond E. Waydelich. The former universe is illustrated by acrylic, oil and pigment paintings, as well as cast-iron and terracotta sculptures by Hohler, and mixed media works by Waydelich. Music has always played an important role in Christophe Hohler's life; as a child, he played the piano and organ. During performances, he paints prints of piano strings on an uncovered grand piano or improvises on classical music. Raymond E. Waydelich, for his part, has been fascinated from the outset by the invention of the record and the development of the audio medium.

The Fondation Fernet-Branca is exhibiting numerous early works by Raymond E. Waydelich, including over thirty reliquary boxes recounting the life of Lydia Jacob and her imaginary relatives. His work on “The archaeology of the future” and his artistic treatment of trips to Antibes, Crete, Canada and Namibia (ceramics, drawings, engravings, aquagravures) testify to the diversity of the Strasbourg-based mixed artist. In the early 2000s, Waydelich began reproducing old masters, creating what he calls his “Memory Paintings”. On display at Saint-Louis are two variations on Jean-François Millet's “L'Angelus”, a painting modernized by Waydelich with birds, an airplane, a motorcycle and cabbages. They answer a triptych dedicated in 2024 by Christophe Hohler to the same subject of Angelus bells. As in Millet's 1859 work, a couple of strangers, marked by the drudgery of field work, rise from anonymity to fame.

Christophe Hohler

The exhibition at the Fondation Fernet-Branca is a home match for the artist. His studio, located in the former synagogue of Hagenthal-le-Bas, is only a few kilometers away. This is where he creates his large acrylic, oil and pigment paintings on canvas, as well as drawings (charcoal, watercolor, Indian ink), etchings and zincographs, and sculptures in filigree terracotta. The main motif are humans, depicted standing alone or in groups of two, three or more . Strikingly, the clothing of his figures does not allow them to be assigned to a particular period, nor do the backgrounds and landscapes indicate where they are. The observer knows neither where they come from nor where they are going. Reduced to postures, movements, gestures and glances... to be, not to have. If there is a confrontation at all, it's with raw nature in the form of an arid landscape or a black-and-blue sea. The viewer finds calm in the images of deserted forests, and recognizes the élan and joie de vivre in these works created to music. However dark his work may seem at times, Christophe Hohler celebrates existence and invites intimate reflection on the human condition.

Biography of Christophe Hohler

04/25/1961: Born in Basel/CH. Childhood in Neuwiller/F, dual French and Swiss nationality.
1977-1981: Training in offset printing. Courses at the graphic arts vocational school in Basel/CH.
1983-1988: Studies at the École des Arts Décoratifs, Strasbourg/F.
Since 1997 Exhibitions in Switzerland, France, Germany, Norway, Denmark, UK, Italy, Belgium, Canada and USA.
Since 2004 Workshop in the former synagogue of Hagenthal-le-Bas/F.
Since 2012 Performances combining painting and music

Raymond E. Waydelich

The Hindisheim property, with its half-timbered house, chapel and studio, was Raymond E. Waydelich's creative center for decades. He bought it at a time when he was already famous, having presented the environment “L'Homme de Frédehof” in the French pavilion at the Venice Biennale, which also marked the inauguration of “L'archéologie du futur”. To save everyday objects from oblivion, he began preserving them in concrete bunkers in public places. Waydelich uses the “Lydia Jacob Story” to convey serious issues such as environmental destruction and the threat to indigenous people with poetic lightness. To do this, he chooses reliquary boxes, called “Memorizations”, which he equips in a seemingly playful way. An Alsatian at heart, he likes to draw inspiration from the world, traveling to excavation sites and exploring foreign cultures. His imagination and creativity knew no bounds. When Waydelich died in August 2024, he left behind not only his well-known graphic art, but also a large body of mixed-media work, of which the Fondation Fernet-Branca is presenting the highlights.

Biography of Raymonf E. Waydelich

09/14/1938: Born in Strasbourg-Neudorf/F.
1952-1953: Trained as a woodcarver in his father's workshop.
1953-1957: Studied at the École des Arts Décoratifs, Strasbourg/F.
1957-1959: Studies at the École nationale supérieure des Arts Décoratifs, Paris/F.
1959-1962: Army photographer in Algeria.
Since 1974: Exhibitions in France, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, Denmark, Belgium, Greece, Argentina, Japan and the United States.
1978: French representative at the Venice Biennale/I.
Since 1978: Works in collections and public spaces.
Since 1984: Installations and projects on the archaeology of the future, notably as part of documenta X 1997 in Cassel/D.
09/08/2024 Died in Strasbourg/F