It seems to me that everyone will find their own interpretation, of course: another freedom of thought that the reading of a work of art still leaves us today.
Let me share with you what I felt about this exhibition, and of course I will also give you my opinion about the exhibition itself.
As far as I am concerned, I knew Sam Szafran until then through the art market.
I had not seen the retrospective of the artist in 2007, and therefore I had never seen so many works of the artist at once.
My first impression was immediately a huge unease.
And I quickly understood why: all these works exposed the artist's intimate research.
As I approached the different rooms, I began to get used to this feeling of unease, to really immerse myself in the works.
And finally, as I left this exhibition, Sam Szafran's work made me think of the symbolism of the labyrinth.
Why did this happen?
The labyrinth is a geometric pattern that represents a complex path with many dead ends and false roads. The goal of the one who takes it is to reach the exit or to reach the center, a kind of sacred place.
Well, here we are: Sam Szafran's entire work is like a labyrinth.
Let's put the artist back into perspective and quickly trace his path.
Szafran was born in Warsaw in 1921 and moved to France in 1947.
A difficult childhood, shaken by the disasters of the Second World War, in a family of Jewish-Polish origin, pushed the leaf painter to prefer solitude, concentrating on his own existence in order to be able to transfer to his painting and his pastels his favorite themes.
Born into a family of Polish-Jewish origin, the artist initially born Samuel Berger decided to pay tribute to his grandmother by taking the name Szafran.
During the Second World War, Szafran was a member of the French Resistance. He was arrested in 1943 and sent to Auschwitz, where he was interned in the concentration camp until his release in 1945.
At the end of the 1950s, Szafran first dealt with "Des ateliers", where the artist describes his intimate world. At first, these were makeshift shelters, sometimes shared by several people.
Returning in 1951 from Australia, where he had taken refuge with the survivors of his Jewish family after the raids of the Occupation, Szafran experienced great precariousness that left him on the razor's edge of life, between anguish and delinquency. The series of balancing acts seems to be the perfect metaphor for his unstable situation.
Then comes the theme of stairs, shown in an introspective way.
Finally, the theme of the leaves, often suffocating and threatening, the philodendrons invading the whole space, even suffocating his wife Lilette.
After the war, Szafran resumed his career as a painter and enjoyed international success.
He passed away at the age of 98 in 2019.
Three years after the death of the French artist, the Musée de l'Orangerie brings together here a group of works such as the artist's studio, the studio of his printer, the stairs and foliage invading the entire space, subjects that are, after all, existential and have always found their place in the career of the artist.
The exhibition includes more than sixty works, with pastels, watercolors and charcoals, offering a broad overview of his work, whose common denominator is the constant search for oneself through the labyrinth of his workshops, stairs or foliage...
Depending on the case, the labyrinth is a game, a test or an allegory. Spatial or mental, it has a rich and deep symbolism, which evokes the quest, the secret or the knowledge of oneself.
It seems to me that through these works, Szafran has essentially sought to know himself
"Know yourself, and you will know the universe and its gods."
It seems to me that in order to be able to apprehend the world, he felt the need to go deep within himself.
The labyrinth represents first of all a difficulty: it is a most anguishing ordeal since the progression is done blindly. The danger is in every corner. The path is strewn with pitfalls. Thus, the labyrinth is synonymous with adversity, terror, error, distraction and death.
Its stairs are the perfect example: progress, exit, dead end? In any case, the questioning is incessant.
Only intelligence and cunning will be able to get out of the labyrinth: it will be necessary to interpret clues, to solve enigmas and to set up strategies, following the example of Ariadne's thread or of the pebbles of Little Thumb to find an exit from these staircases, meanders of the mind.
The labyrinth evokes an unknown, dark space, an image of the mind or the subconscious. The labyrinth evokes the unknown, the mystery of life, the secret of existence. To pierce the secret requires to surpass oneself, to put oneself in danger
This is probably what made me uncomfortable: this succession of works for which the artist had to work to solve his own enigma.
I even felt a bit like a voyeur, entering the artist's intimacy.
To visit our inner labyrinth is to face the dark part of ourselves. It is to search for the origin of our fears and our passions, it is to confront our own image.
That's it, Sam Szafran expresses the torments of his inner world with pastels and watercolors. 
I would like to make a parenthesis on the medium used, which is not insignificant: the pastel.
Szafran was a great admirer of Degas, the great master of pastel in the 19th century, and he seeks to update this technique which has a certain particularity: it gathers the color, brings a very particular light and remains in the moment. He will use watercolor whose common denominator is the instant as fixing the feeling expressed, here and now.
To put Szafran back on the frieze of artistic movements, let us note that he is attached to the figurative in the midst of the abstraction boom, which will give him a singular place in the art of the second half of the 20th century.
The main thing is to express what he is: the works become over time more monumental, with the exploration of another medium: silk that he combines with watercolor, to achieve more softness. Perhaps a sign of appeasement in the artist's life.
Sam Szafran's crossing of the labyrinth evokes his personal and spiritual quest, his path in life.
But beyond himself, Sam Szafran's works invite us to look differently.
"What was important to me was not so much to create a work of art as to give people the possibility of looking a little better. The role of the artist was to give another look, a look that allows us to see differently.
Today he is considered one of the most important painters of his generation and it is easy to see why.
The exhibition offers a complete overview of Sam Szafran's work, from his earliest paintings to his latest works.
You can see how Szafran's style has evolved over the course of his career and how he has approached different subjects.
As you can see, this exhibition will be very personal.
Experience it: as I always say, go to the museum! I encourage you to go and see this exhibition with others and compare your impressions afterwards.
Enjoy the Jardin des Tuileries, a magical and timeless place for beautiful walks.

Elodie Couturier, Expertisez.com

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