“Fragment” tray, Tal Waldman collection

Material: 100% linen fabric / resin made from recycled PET bottles

Design: Fred Morand

Artist: Robert Tatin

Game No. 1 , 1972, oil on canvas, 195cm x 130cm

Game No. 1 is a vertical composition that stands out for its geometric patterns and its multiple, very bright colors. Abstract in appearance, this painting presents an infinity of squares, framed by thick black lines. Only one circle escapes the rule.

In the upper right quarter, this circle appears like a grain of sand that surprises our eye by contrast with the inflexible routine of the infinitely nested squares.

With a little hindsight, the roofs of the favelas of Rio de Janeiro appear, seen from the sky. These squares become the multiple colored houses clustered on the slopes of the mountain, once a natural and wild landscape. Robert Tatin denounces the mechanization of men which replaces nature, however the source of all life.

With a little more distance and height, a thicker black line draws the outlines of the strange silhouette of a robot that is hiding.

If Robert Tatin created this work in 1972 when he had been back in Mayenne for almost 10 years, it is elsewhere that his spirit and his art take us. He spent 5 years in South America (from 1950 to 1955), notably in Brazil. It was for him the beginning of a formidable artistic adventure but above all, it was at this time that he achieved international fame. Jeu n°1 is a look back at his past experiences, his life traveling the world and a critical look at modernity, which sometimes imposes itself to the detriment of nature.