The Galerie Suzanne Tarasieve, by presenting an ensemble of some fifteen works by Ed Paschke, who died in 2004, is doing more than simply introducing an original and diverse approach. In terms of todayʼs globalized art, Paschke defined himself as an indefatigable artist whose artistic endeavours span a long period. For example, his work can be understood as the expression of an alternative history of America, particularly in regard to the positive and optimistic images of pop art. Through his works, we glimpse an account of society, primarily focused on the marginalized, and the poorer—essentially black—classes. As if he sought to restore and reconcile one half of society with the dominant images promoting the American way of life. The mythology of this disparate civilization may be said to be evoked through the multiple pictorial and oftentimes surreal-like compositions.

Furthermore Cadmium Signature (1979), an oil on canvas, embodies a practice that would be primarily pictorial and rebellious. Indeed, this exhibition reinforces and prolongs the Galerie Suzanne Tarasieveʼs programme, going from the fabulous Sigmar Polke to German painters such as Immendorf and Lüpertz, who also offer a very comprehensive analysis of what it means to be an individual in society and in oneʼs time.

In this exhibition, we encounter a whole host of figures. Once again these are not white Americans but figures who immediately retrace individual destinies and ambiguous situations (Tool World, 1990). Many of the black individuals depicted emerge in a sparkling, almost fluorescent light (Green red spring, 1998) where the colours are intentionally garish. Paschkeʼs works have a real evocative force. In their expression of daily life and social contexts, they approach photographyʼs critical power.

Matrix (1995) offers a confrontation or an opportunity to reintroduce the tutelary image from American myth. Another fantastic exuberant character presented in the incredible Trapeeza (1976), literally shatters the representation: the female figure seems to move within a geometric frame. Sexed and androgynous bodies occupy all the paintingʼs surface. A small drawing Jeu Jaune (1994), featuring a fish, seems to have come directly from a surrealist work or a daydream. In Projectile (1995), the artist makes use of derision and humour: in a blue-toned space, a fish comes face to face with an artillery of projectiles. Paschkeʼs images have a real visual impact carried by the expressive faces at the centre of the composition. The situations and intimate narratives depicted by the artist speak to a wide audience.