This exhibition pays tribute to a passionate collector, two years after his passing by, presenting a selection of historical works that highlight the commitment and friendship Jean Cherqui maintained with numerous artists from the Río de la Plata region.

In this sense, the curatorial project focuses on presenting works created between the 1940s and 1960s, related to the avant-garde movements of geometric abstraction, such as MADI and Concrete Art, by Joaquín Torres García and the Escuela del Sur, along with some precursors of Kinetic Optical Art.

The exhibition begins chronologically with a work by Joaquín Torres García, along with works by two of his most prominent disciples, José Gurvich and Manuel Pailos. A selection of works by the precursors of MADI — Carmelo Arden Quin, Gyula Košice and Martín Blaszko — follows, along with works by key figures of Río de la Plata concrete art: José Pedro Costigliolo, María Freire, Alfredo Hlito and Ennio Lommi. The exhibition concludes with works by the pioneer of Optical Art, Martha Boto and the creator of Generative Art, Miguel Ángel Vidal, with a piece from his early Concrete Art period.

Dr. Jean Cherqui was an inventive and creative entrepreneur who introduced generic medications to France and a passionate art collector who amassed a collection of approximately 5,000 works of modern and contemporary art in his laboratory in Aubervilliers.

As a brief introduction, it can be mentioned that after selling some pharmacies he owned, Cherqui left his homeland, Algeria (during the complex process of independence), at the end of the 1960s to settle in France. In 1971, he acquired a small pharmaceutical laboratory, which gradually grew, finally occupying a large space in Aubervilliers, where the headquarters of the Jean Cherqui Foundation is currently located.

During the 1980s, the dynamic businessman recognized the importance of generic medications and began manufacturing them, gradually introducing them into the French market. While improving and innovating in the production of these drugs, he discovered the world of contemporary art, particularly artists associated with geometric abstraction in its many forms: MADI, Concrete Art and Kinetic Optical Art.

This discovery quickly turned into a passion, and Cherqui undoubtedly identified with these artists, who were enthusiastic about science and reason, working like scientific inventors and promoting audience participation with their works, many of whom were also immigrants.

Thus, the laboratory’s headquarters shifted from a pharmaceutical production space to store Cherqui’s vast collection of works by artists from Latin America, Europe and Asia. This passion never left him and was passed down to his grandson Matthias Chetrit, the current director of the foundation based in Aubervilliers.

(Text by Manuel Neves)