| Figuration Libre - The History | | | | York, London, Pittsburgh, and Paris. |
| 1980s saw a major upheaval in the field of arts, | | | | The Details |
| especially Visual Arts, paintings particularly. While | | | | Like other movements of their times, Figuration |
| the United States & Europe witnessed the | | | | Libre dealt with the marginalized section of |
| change as Neo- Expressionism and Bad Paintings, | | | | expressions or art forms. Just as Cubism dealt |
| France specifically faced this creative shift of | | | | with African and Oceanian Art, Surrealism with |
| attitude in Western Painting, as Figuration Libre | | | | children, Art Brut with sketches, and Pop Art with |
| (Free Figuration), in 1980. The same wave of | | | | publicity & comic strips, the Libre is about the |
| change affected German and Italian artistry with | | | | freedom of expression and Free Style Painting, |
| the names Junge Wilde and Transavantguardia, | | | | portraying uninhibited creativity on all kinds of art |
| respectively. In 1981, Fluxus Italian artist Ben | | | | medium, irrespective of cultural, geographical, and |
| Vautier (born in Italy, in 1935) coined the term | | | | ideological differences. |
| 'Figuration Libre.' This movement was a revolt by | | | | The Correlations |
| the young junior artists and painters, for more | | | | Figuration welcomed every form of art, be it Fine |
| colorful and figurative painting. Figuration Libre was | | | | Arts, Applied Arts, Western Art, or Non-Western |
| a very successful movement in its time. Thanks | | | | Art. It broadened the horizons, changing the |
| to the media coverage it garnered. | | | | pattern of painting radically. The whole scenario of |
| The Artists | | | | this new painting movement knit a very close |
| Outstanding French artist, such as Remi Blanchard | | | | friendship with the Bad Painting of the United |
| (1958-93), François Boisrond (born 1959), | | | | States. In 1982, art critic Otto Hahn organized an |
| Robert Combas (born 1957), Hervé Di | | | | exhibition in New York called 'Statements, New |
| Rosa (born 1959), Richard Di Rosa (Italian - born | | | | York 82 Leading artists of France.' In 1985, '5/5: |
| 1959), and Louis Jammes (born 1958) supported | | | | Figuration Libre, France-USA' was organized in the |
| this movement. Somewhere during 1982-85, | | | | Paris Museum of Modern Art. These exhibitions |
| these artists got the chance to explore more | | | | encompassed a whole set of works of the leading |
| with their counterparts in United States, and were | | | | Figuration Libre artists, like Basquiat, Blanchard, |
| called Bad Painting Group. American Painters, like | | | | Boisrond, Combas, Crash, les frères di |
| Keith Haring (1958-90), Jean-Michel Basquiat | | | | Rosa, Haring, Jammes, Kwang Chi, and Scharf. |
| (1960-88), Kenny Scharf (born 1958), and Tseng | | | | This Western Painting style undoubtedly had an |
| Kwong Chi (1950-90), were the key Figuration | | | | effect on the modern day painting in a big way. |
| Libre artists, who exhibited their paintings in New | | | | |