11 SEP – 7 NOV 2026

Opening – 10 SEP 2026, 6–10 pm

In Paris at the end of the 19th century an insight gained sway that was as simple as it was to be influential. Painting is initially nothing more than paint on canvas. André Derain (1880–1954) was one of the first to draw artistic conclusions from this liberating knowledge. As a Fauvist, he enjoyed the liberty of breaking with traditions. Soon, this zest was to set the avant-gardes of the following decades in motion.

Painter-sculptor Derain, however, did not stick with the revolt. A native of Paris, he was more interested in forging credible links back to tradition rather than in abolishing it. While the Cubists put “form-crushing” through all its possible paces, he was already busy trying to regain the image. In Derain, the great French painting tradition found its medium, not in order to restore, but to transform it.

The exhibition opens at Galerie Michael Werner Berlin on Thursday, 10 September 2026 from 6 – 10 pm and will be on view through 7 November 2026.

 A catalogue accompanying the exhibition will be published, featuring essays by MėtaValiušaitytė, Danièle Cohn und Alberto Giacometti.