The gallery is delighted to present a solo exhibition of Émilie Charmy at Art Basel Miami Beach.

This is an opportunity to rediscover this singular and provocative artist, one of the most original voices of modern art in Paris during the first half of the 20th century. Her paintings were part of the great artistic currents of the pre-First World War period, which she subsequently pursued in a singular and solitary way. Many of the great writers and critics of the time wrote about Charmy’s work,  including the French novelist Colette who wrote a long text for the 1926 exhibition at the Galerie d’Art Ancien et Moderne in Paris.

What made Émilie Charmy’s art so distinctive and provocative in her day was that it seemed to escape what was expected of a female artist. Critics were unanimous in finding virile qualities in her expressive, physical and rugged style, but they were certainly also reacting to her treatment of subjects, particularly nudes, some of which display a remarkably frank and complex sexuality. Charmy’s success continued into the 1930s, until the Second World War wiped out most of her personal networks.

Although she continued to develop her work well into her later years, notably with self-portraits that present a curious and fascinating fusion of introspection and masquerade, Émilie Charmy’s work is only beginning to resurface today.

Émilie Charmy’s work is represented in numerous Museums in France and also in American public collections including the Fralin Museum in Charlottesville, the VMFA Museum in Richmond, the Arts Club and the Art Institute of Chicago.