Space, proportions and rhythm are the most important elements in Serge Poliakoff's art. The contours between the color fields are always slightly bent, so that the interlocked forms are subject to an imperceptive vibration. The subtly graded colors, forms that become more dense towards the center and the tension between the color fields make for the composition's overall harmony. In works from around 1960 Poliakoff increasingly worked with subtle nuances, which is also tehe case in this work. The yellow evolves through various shades of orange and eventually turns to red. Owed to his immeasurable creative powers Poliakoff allows us to discover his abstract paintings over and over again: "Many people say that there is nothing to see in abstract painting. If you ask me, I would perhaps need three lives and I would still not be able to see everything I said." (Serge Poliakoff, quote after : Künstler, Kritisches Lexikon der Gegenwartskunst, edition 31, issue 21, III 1995, p. 2).
Date: 1958 Period: 20th century Origin: France Medium: Gouache on paper Signature:
Signed lower right : Serge Poliakoff
This work is registered under the n°858056 in the Poliakoff Archives, Paris.
Dimensions: 48 x 62.2 cm (18⁷/₈ x 24¹/₂ inches) Provenance:
Erker Gallery, Saint-Gallen.
Literature: Alexis Poliakoff, Serge Poliakoff : Catalogue Raisonné, Tome II, Galerie Française Editions, Munich, 2010, illustrated under the n°58-35.
Exhibitions:
Serge Poliakoff, Brussels, Charles Kriwin Gallery, March 29th - April 30th 1977, n°4.
