Robert WOGENSKY

A member of the APCT (Association of Tapestry Cartoon Painters), Wogensky is one of the many artists who devoted themselves to tapestry following in Lurçat's footsteps in the immediate post-war period. Initially influenced by Lurçat, Wogensky's work (159 cartoons according to the 1989 exhibition catalog) evolved in the 1960s towards a lyrical abstraction, not always fully embraced, moving from cosmic-astronomical themes to decomposed and dynamic bird forms, towards more refined and less dense cartoons. While he always proclaimed himself a painter, the artist's reflection on tapestry is highly developed: “Creating a wall cartoon… means thinking in terms of a space that no longer belongs to us, by its dimensions, its scale; it also requires a broad gesture that transforms and accentuates our presence.”.

Symptomatic of the heroic era of the late 1940s which also saw the blossoming of the fledgling talents of Tourlière, Lagrange, Matégot,…, all still young, inspired by Lurçat, and trying to distinguish themselves from him, but still remaining figurative, “the watchman” affirms, in a lyrical and colorful style, its proximity to daily life (note the detail of the striped sweater), at the same time a strong symbolic connotation: a whistleblower in uncertain times.

Bibliography:
J. Cassou, M. Damain, R. Moutard-Uldry, French Tapestry and Cartoon Painters, Tel, 1957, ill. p. 131
; Exhibition Catalog: Robert Wogensky, The Woven Work, Aubusson, Departmental Museum of Tapestry, 1989, ill. p. 15
; Exhibition Catalog: Robert Wogensky, Angers, Jean Lurçat Museum and Contemporary Tapestry, 1989
; Exhibition Catalog: Jean Lurçat, Companions on the Road and Considerable Figures, Felletin, Church, 1992, ill. p. 46