09/01/2010 Pierre Soulages at Paris Centre Pompidou
RSS Feed ~ Comment: by email - on Twitter ~ Share: Twitter - Facebook - Linked In - Google+ - Permanent link
It's what I do that teaches me what I'm looking for.
When it goes to France, I become, most of the time, quite extousiat. On the art creation side however, I sadly think that Paris is dead, that Paris rely on the nostalia of itself and whatever that seems to grow doesn't last. This feeling have been reenforced by living in London and visiting Berlin where I felt finding life or like a friend tall me, it's like Paris is close and Berlin is open.
France isn't just Paris, I have been surprised several times in the past of how dynamic and how creative the French province could be. Pierre Soulages is one of this artist that reenforces this idea.
Pierre Soulages is a French painter, borned at Rodez in 1919 and state as "the most known French living artist". From his youth, Pierre Soulages has soon developed a painting with neither image nor language. Instead, I would say he has been fascinated by a painting exploration and the relationships with the paintings. On the contrary of most abstract painting, Soulages works haven't been lead by internationalization but by his own explorations and experiences with his own paintings.
The reality of a work is the three-way relationship it establishes between the thing that it is, the painter who made it, and the viewer who sees it.
Pierre Soulages builds a real obsession for black that lead him in 1979 to create what he will called later 'Outrenoir'.
Why black? The only answer, which covers the unknown reasons that lurk in the obscurest regions of ourselves and of the powers of painting, is: BECAUSE.
'Outrenoir' is an exploration based on the relationship between the light and the painting surface: Reflexions, direct and diffuse lighting, the chromatic subtlety and just the material as a 'thing'. As a result a photograph of one of his late painting isn't really interesting. Soulages painting involves a kind of dynamic and requires to be experienced.
Outrenoir to signify, beyond black, a light reflected and transmuted by black. Outrenoir: a black that ceases to be itself to become luminous, a source of secret light. Outrenoir: a mental space that isn't that of ordinary black.
Conscerning the exhibition itself, the layout is just great and were devised with Soulages who really care about how the painting are experienced by the visitors. Finally, a long video present the myth beyond Soulages which is absolutly fascinating. Like I say in these cases: Pierre Soulages is a real person.
I have been so amazed by his last work, by the quantity of the work it represents and that at 89 years, Soulage still continue to explore is topic and show new and interesting results. I would even say that what I prefer in this work, is what he didn't the past 10 years. This exhibition is displayed until 8th of March and is of course one of my highest recommandation if you don't mind to much the huge crowd...