Robert WOGENSKY

Member of the A.P.C.T. (Association of Painters-Cartonists of Tapestry), Wogensky is one of the many artists who devoted themselves to tapestry following Lurçat, in the immediate post-war period. Initially influenced by him, Wogensky's work (159 cartoons according to the 1989 exhibition catalog) later evolved in the 1960s towards a lyrical abstraction not always fully assumed, from cosmic-astronomical themes to decomposed and moving bird forms, towards more refined and less dense cartoons. Although he always proclaimed himself a painter, the artist's reflection on tapestry is very accomplished: "Creating a mural cartoon... is thinking in terms of a space that no longer belongs to us, by its dimensions, its scale, it is also the requirement of a broad gesture that transforms and accentuates our presence".

Symptomatic of the heroic era of the late 1940s, which also saw the emergence of the budding talents of Tourlière, Lagrange, Matégot,…, all still young, inspired by Lurçat, and trying to distinguish themselves, but still figurative, "the watchman" asserts, in a lyrical and colorful style, its proximity to everyday life (note the detail of the striped sweater), at the same time as a strong symbolic connotation: a whistleblower in uncertain times.

Bibliography:
J. Cassou, M. Damain, R. Moutard-Uldry, French tapestry and cartoonists, Tel, 1957, ill. p.131
Exhibition Catalogue. Robert Wogensky, woven work, Aubusson, Departmental Museum of Tapestry, 1989, ill. p .15
Exhibition Catalogue. Robert Wogensky, Angers, Jean Lurçat Museum and Contemporary Tapestry, 1989
Exhibition Catalogue. Jean Lurçat, companions and considerable passersby, Felletin, Church, 1992, ill. p.46