L’appel 1972

Evelyne Axell’s ‘L’appel’ is a wild scene made of layered, cutout perspex. What could she have been thinking? The artist’s hand is visible in every curve and corner, a tactile encounter with the material. See the screaming man bursting out of the painting? He’s got all the energy and dynamism of a Matisse cutout, but Axell gives him the starring role. He screams to a sunbather, lying horizontally like a distant relative of Manet's Olympia. There’s something playful in this work, something that connects it to the pop art and feminist art of the 1960s. It’s a painting, but it’s also a sculpture, a collage, a theatrical set. I think about other artists working with unconventional materials, like Lynda Benglis, or how Elizabeth Murray exploded the canvas in the 1970s. Ultimately, ‘L’appel’ is a testament to the enduring power of conversation, even across generations. It reminds us that painting is not just about representation but about creating new ways of seeing and experiencing.