New realities in Paris: abstract art and internationalism, 1946-1950

Inaugurated in 1946, the Salon des Réalités Nouvelles was an exhibiting association committed to abstract art and internationalism. This was not an isolated venture. Drawing upon the Salon’s archives, this essay examines the Salon as a conceptual and material work in process, endeavoring to give shape to a radical new beginning through the valorization of abstract art. It shows how the Réalités Nouvelles membership, formation and outlook were directly shaped by both French and international cultural and political organizations, by nation-state borders and relations, and by personal connections and professional networks. The aesthetic debates and the internationalist outlook of the Salon are placed in relation with other new salons in Paris, such as the Salon de Mai, and with alternative visions for art and internationalism from around the world. In so doing, the early years of the Salon’s history reveal deep constitutive tensions in both the wider abstract art community and the internationalist mission.