In the first half of the twentieth century, Fernand Léger painted objects and scenes from everyday life—keys, chairs, gloves, hats, letters, animals, acrobats, cyclists... He broke down lines, shapes, and colors, abandoning the illusion of reality and overturning traditional artistic hierarchies. His painting, joyful and accessible, invaded public spaces and spread everywhere.

In the 1960s, a new generation of artists, the Nouveaux Réalistes, took up this momentum: they stamped, tore, accumulated, compressed, parodied, burned, electrified, ate, and played, turning every gesture into a celebration of life.

At the same time, in the United States, other artists appropriated Léger’s legacy, showing how relevant the revolution initiated by this pioneer of the avant-garde still was.