"Monsieur Carton Plume ("Feather Board") is a character who is entirely devoid of feathers, yet without having been plucked. He has a soft foam heart and a white skin that protects his heart. Lightweight, he presents himself well, despite his stiffness. And everyone knows Monsieur Papier, so he needs no introduction. I chose these two actors to appear on stage at 38, avenue Matignon because of their strong personalities, their distinction and their presence. They don't speak or write to us (although Monsieur Papier learnt this a long time ago), but through their poses, their way of being, of appearing, and, of course, through the colours of their appearance. A silent show, but not necessarily a mute one. The colours are bold, robust and contained within limits that Monsieur Plume has carefully controlled; he balances them on relatively stable grid-based scaffolding. We suspect that he’s got a thing for architecture. Monsieur Papier, on the other hand, prefers the same intense accoutrement of colours, sometimes exclusive, but with multiple tonal interferences. In his case, the contours are less clear-cut, the boundaries between different territories less controlled, with intrusions allowed. We suspect that he’s got a libertarian streak. Architects, libertarians, immigrants from who knows where, welcome all of you. Your residence permit on these walls is valid."
Jan Voss was born in Hamburg (Germany) in 1936. He lives and works between Paris and Berlin. After studying at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich between 1956 and 1960, the artist permanently settled in Paris. He was a professor at the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris, where he taught from 1987 to 1992.
He has been the subject of major exhibitions, including at the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Dunkirk in 2002, the Palais Synodal in Sens, France in 2008, the Museum Arnhem in the Netherlands in 2010, the Espace d'art contemporain André Malraux in Colmar, France in 2021, and Château Lynch-Bages in Pauillac, France in 2022. His works now feature in the collections of many museums: Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, Moderna Musset in Stockholm, Musée des Beaux-Arts de Dunkerque, Centre Pompidou in Paris.
From now until 2025, the Musée d'art moderne de Céret will be presenting major works on paper as part of a group exhibition marking the reopening of the museum. A monograph on Voss by Yves Michaud was published in 2001 and a second by Anne Tronche in 2015.
