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The last great paintings of the London based American artist William Utermohlen (1933-2007), the "Conversation Pieces"and his self portraits of 1995-2002 are now known world-wide for being a rare and powerful testimony of an artist's awareness of his descent into dementia. They have been shown in London, Harvard, Philadelphia, New York, Washington and at the Cité des Sciences in Paris in the summer of 2007.

This lecture and slide show will focus on the symbolism of the works by linking them to the artist's past work and his life. Discover how the artist adapts his drawing skills and painting style to changing perceptions of space and people, then after 1995 to the terrifying loss of his manual and conceptual skills. To the very end the works demonstrate a self-awareness and expressive power that prove the power of the human spirit to withstand and resist the onslaught of a terrible disease.

Chris Boïcos is the founder of Paris Art Studies, former art history professor at the University of Delaware and the University of Southern California in Paris.