History (and stories) of the exhibition

As I mentioned in the Brasilia section's Credit chapter, the idea of ​​ Trois Traces d'Oscar was born during my "Heritage Days" exhibition in 2005, at a time when certain paintings from my Brasilia series were exhibited at the Espace Niemeyer, at its administrator Gérard Fournier’s invitation.

The Espace Niemeyer and the building on Place Colonel Fabien (of which the Espace Niemeyer is an integral component),  were used to taking part in this annual event. The public then found itself free to visit the jewels of Parisian architectures closed to the public eye in the normal course, in this event organized by the French State and its Ministry of the culture. Gérard Fournier worked at the time for the confirmation of his building’s classification at the French Historic Monuments’, which he finally obtained in 2007.   

It was during the preparation of this exhibition that I met a woman whom I quickly befriended with, namely one of the volunteers of the team that Gérard Fournier had formed and who was assisting the administrator in his tasks of management and maintenance of the French Communist Party's headquarters. She also participated in the cultural events’ installation which used to be held at the Espace Niemeyer on Gérard's initiative. The lady's name was Yvette Chapochnik ("Mrs Spoutnik", as I used to affectionately call her, to her great displeasure).
Yvette at the time was a retired clerk and a born activist at the PCF's benefit, for which she and her late husband had committed themselves by conviction all their lives. Yvette was involved practically in all my exhibitions at the Espace Niemeyer. When one took place, she used to run a stand where she helped selling catalogues, monotypes and art prints with seriousness, dedication, kindness and an unfailing availability, as she watched over the ongoing exhibition like a policeman on a mission.