A bit of history...

The NEW REALISTS movement was officially formed on October 27, 1960, with the signing of a joint manifesto written by art critic Pierre Restany during a meeting at the home of artist Yves KLEIN. Often perceived as the French version of American Pop Art, this collective brought together major figures such as ARMAN, Martial RAYSSE, Jean TINGUELY, and Raymond HAINS. Together, they advocated for new perceptive approaches to reality and radically opposed the lyricism of the abstract painting of their era, preferring to anchor their creativity in the emerging urban and industrial society.

The very essence of this group lay in the direct use of everyday consumer objects taken from contemporary reality, which they chose to present rather than simply represent. As early as 1957, early signs appeared when Raymond HAINS and Jacques VILLÉGLÉ exhibited their first torn advertising posters ripped from the streets of Paris, while Yves KLEIN patented his famous International Klein Blue (IKB). From 1959 onwards, their methods became more radical with ARMAN's famous accumulations of common objects and Daniel SPOERRI's first "snare-pictures" (tableaux-pièges) that froze the remains of meals vertically to challenge the viewer's gaze.

In the early 1960s, the movement expanded and incorporated new prominent figures who shook up the codes of traditional sculpture. In 1960, CÉSAR caused a scandal by presenting his first automobile compressions created using an industrial hydraulic press, while CHRISTO began wrapping everyday objects. The artist Niki de SAINT PHALLE officially joined the adventure in 1961, first gaining recognition for her shooting sessions with a rifle at bags of paint, before creating her monumental and colorful polyester Nanas starting in 1965, symbols of female empowerment.

Although the collective creative effervescence slowed down in the middle of the decade, leading to the de facto dissolution of the group in 1966, the spirit of the NEW REALISTS endured through large-scale individual projects. The tenth anniversary of the movement's founding led to major commemorative events and performance actions in Milan in 1970, sealing the historical legacy of these artists. By diverting the waste and symbols of the consumer society, this movement deeply redefined the boundaries of modern art by transforming the simple gesture of appropriating reality into an absolute artistic act.

A few memorable collective exhibitions that marked the evolution and consecration of the NEW REALISM movement, from its initial provocations to its international museum recognition:

- « Nouveaux Réalistes » (May 1960, Galerie Apollinaire, Milan)
This historic collective exhibition marks the birth of the group, offering art critic Pierre Restany the opportunity to formulate the concept of "New Realism" for the very first time in the catalogue's presentation text.

- « Premier Festival du Nouveau Réalisme » (July 1961, Galerie Muratore and Roseland Abbey, Nice)
An event of international scale, this first festival asserted the group's cohesion through public declarations, exhibitions, and memorable performance actions, notably the famous shooting sessions by Niki de Saint Phalle.

- « Les Nouveaux Réalistes » (May 1963, Galerie J, Paris)
Organized in the true Parisian headquarters of the movement, this collective exhibition provided a major aesthetic overview and symbolized the creative peak of the group before its members' paths became individualized.

- « Les manifestations du 10e anniversaire » (November 1970, City of Milan)
This large-scale commemorative celebration reunited the artists for a series of spectacular and ephemeral urban actions in the streets of Milan, festively and officially sealing the end of the movement's collective adventure.

- « Le Nouveau Réalisme d'hier à aujourd'hui » (1972, Galeries nationales du Grand Palais, Paris)
Integrated into the famous transitional exhibition "Twelve Years of Contemporary Art in France", this section offered the French public its first major institutional overview of the 1960s School of Paris, officializing its entry into heritage history.

- « 1960 : Les Nouveaux Réalistes » (1986, Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris)
This major historical retrospective initiated the heritage consecration of the movement in France, allowing the measurement, with the benefit of hindsight, of the major aesthetic impact of these artists on the creation of the second half of the 20th century.

- « Les Nouveaux Réalistes » (2002 - 2003, Musée d’Art Moderne et d’Art Contemporain - MAMAC, Nice)
Organized on the occasion of the movement's fortieth anniversary in the historic stronghold of the School of Nice, this scientific retrospective allowed for a re-reading of the group's influence through the prism of Mediterranean culture and its links with the international scene.

- « Le Nouveau Réalisme » (2007, Galeries nationales du Grand Palais, Paris)
Conceived in partnership with the Centre Pompidou and subsequently presented in Hanover, this major international exhibition celebrated the "everyday revolution" initiated by the collective by gathering its masterpieces under the nave of the Grand Palais.

- « Niki de Saint Phalle, Jean Tinguely, Pontus Hultén » (June 2025 - January 2026, Grand Palais, Paris)
This international-scale exhibition explores the total creative complicity between two leading figures of New Realism and the legendary museum director, celebrating the aesthetic of mechanical recycling and the spirit of collective freedom through monumental projects.