Jean Dubuffet
French, 1901 - 1985Artful Hubbub, 1955
Not on view
Oil on canvas
Dimensions36 1/4 × 28 3/4 in. (92.1 × 73 cm)
Bequest of Mary Mallery Davis, 1990.21
Jean Dubuffet often purposefully shocked society. From early in his career, his attitude ran contrary to the conventions of art and culture. Dubuffet strove to erase all categories, in doing so he ironically created a category of art all his own, referred to now as art brut. Highly expressive and often crude in appearance, Dubuffet’s art brut style was an attempt to create visual imagery rooted in simple organic methods. Incorporating a limited color palette and densely composed abstract forms, he sought to free the eye from fixed points and borders, implying a sense of the infinite and teetering between reality and fantasy.
