entering abstRaction
Avant-propos
Foreword
L’art abstrait apparaît au début du XXème siècle et c’est une véritable révolution : l’art n’a plus
besoin de représenter la réalité. Certes, des formes non figuratives avaient été utilisées bien avant,
mais elles étaient vouées à des fins purement décoratives ou d’embellissement. Le courant abstrait
s’annonce avec les Impressionnistes qui ne cherchent plus seulement à faire une représentation
fidèle de la réalité mais à exprimer les impressions fugitives, puis un peu plus tard, avec les Fauves
qui jouent audacieusement avec les couleurs. Viennent ensuite les Cubistes qui fragmentent leurs
sujets en formes géométriques.
De ces mouvements et recherches découla l’idée que les couleurs, les formes et les textures
pouvaient elles-mêmes devenir le « sujet » d’une œuvre d’art. Les véritables pionniers de l’art
abstrait sont Kandinsky, Kupka, Malevitch et Mondrian qui dès les années 1910 peignent des images
où toute référence au monde extérieur est délibérément supprimée. L’art abstrait devient un
phénomène mondial après 1945 et plusieurs formes apparaissent : abstraction géométrique,
expressionisme abstrait, tachisme, op art, minimalisme, etc.
Abstract art appeared at the beginning of the 20st century and it was a genuine revolution: art
didn’t need to represent reality anymore. Of course, non-figurative patterns had been used long
before, but they were solely for decoration or embellishment. The abstract movement shaped up
with the Impressionists, who not only voluntarily didn’t try to do a faithful depiction of reality but
reflected momentary impressions. A bit later the Fauvists played with colours boldly and then the
Cubists fragmented their subject in geometrical shapes. From all of these movements the idea that
colour, form and texture could be the “subject” of the painting. The pioneers of abstract art as
we know it today were Kandinsky, Kupka, Malevitch and Mondrian, who as early as 1910 painted
images where nothing deliberately referred to the real world. Abstract art spread worldwide after
1945 and different movements emerged: geometrical abstraction, abstract expressionism, op-art,
dripping, minimalism…
Mais qu’est ce qui fait qu’une œuvre d’art qui ne représente rien en particulier puisse être aussi
captivante ? L’art abstrait fait appel à l’interprétation personnelle, à l’imagination. Bien sûr on peut
dire cela de toute œuvre d’art, mais la raison pour laquelle l’art abstrait a le potentiel d’être si
puissant c’est que c’est une forme d’art qui permet à l’esprit de vagabonder en s’affranchissant de
toute référence consciente. On n’est pas guidé, on n’a plus de références, chacun interprète à sa
façon les formes, les couleurs et la texture d’une œuvre abstraite. On regarde une œuvre d’art
abstraite un peu comme on écoute un morceau de musique, on n’essaie pas d’identifier les notes,
on se laisse simplement emporter par la mélodie.
Opera Gallery Genève a sélectionné pour vous plus d’une trentaine d’œuvres abstraites d’artistes
modernes et contemporains du monde entier. Nous sommes heureux de vous inviter à entrer dans
l’abstraction comme on plonge dans un océan de formes et de couleurs et à vous laisser bercer par
ses vagues, transporter par ses courants…
Jordan Lahmi
Directeur
Opera Gallery Genève
Gilles Dyan
Fondateur et Président
Opera Gallery Group
How can something that represents nothing in particular be so eye-catching to look at? Abstract
art is open to interpretation and stimulates our imagination. Of course, one could say that about
any work of art but the reason why abstract art has the potential to be so powerful is that it lets
the mind wander freely, keeping the conscious distractions to a minimum. We are not guided, there
are no references, we are free to explore the artwork and assign our own meaning to the shapes,
colours and texture of the piece. We look at abstract art in the same way that we listen to music,
we don’t try to hold on to the notes, but we let the melody wash over us.
Opera Gallery Geneva has carefully selected for you over thirty pieces of abstract art by modern
and contemporary artists from all over the world. We are pleased to invite you to enter abstraction
the way you would dive in an ocean of shapes and colours. Let yourself be lulled by the rhythm of
its waves, be carried away by its currents…
Jordan Lahmi
Director
Opera Gallery Geneva
Gilles Dyan
Founder and Chairman
Opera Gallery Group
Fernand Léger
(1881 - 1955)
Fantaisie sur fond rouge, 1943
Signed and dated ‘F.Leger 54’ (lower right corner); countersigned, titled
and dated ‘Fantaisie sur fond rouge F.Leger 43’ (on the reverse)
Oil on canvas board
61 x 50 cm - 24 x 19.7 in.
Provenance
Perls Galleries, New York
Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Berny Schulman, Glencoe, Illinois
Sale: Sotheby’s New York, Oct. 23, 1980, lot 265
Private collection
Sale: Sotheby’s New York, May 16, 1990, 101 438
Leonard Hutton Galleries, New York
Private collection, New York
Exhibited
New York, Perls Galleries, Modern French Painting, 1952, No. 82
Literature
Georges Bauquier, Fernand Léger: Catalogue raisonné de l’œuvre peint,
Paris, 1998, vol. 6, p. 270, No. 1144, ill. in colour p. 271
Certificate
Georges Bauquier, director of Musée National Fernand Léger has
confirmed the authenticity of this work
Alexander Calder
(1898 - 1976)
Three lights and five blacks, 1956
Signed and dated ‘Calder 56’ (lower right corner)
Oil on canvas
55,9 x 81,3 cm - 22 x 32 in.
Provenance
Gift of the artist
Talcott and Polly Clapp, Connecticut
Private collection, New York
Exhibited
New York, Perls Galleries, Calder, Feb. 6 - March 10, 1956
New York, Tina Kim Gallery in conjunction with Vintage 20,
Alexander Calder and George Nakashima, May 22 - June 28, 2008
Certificate
This work is registered in the archives of the Calder Foundation,
New York, under the reference No. A10411
Joan Miró
(1893 - 1983)
Oiseaux dans l’espace, 1960
Signed ‘M’ (lower left corner); countersigned, dated
and inscribed ‘MIRÓ 29/1/60 oiseaux dans l’espace’ (on the reverse)
Mixed media on paper
50 x 65 cm - 19.7 x 25.6 in.
Provenance
Galerie Beyeler, Basel, No. 7398
Private collection, Italy
Certificate
Jacques Dupin has confirmed the authenticity of this work
Georges Mathieu
(1921 - 2012)
Hudson bay, 1963
Signed and dated ‘Mathieu Georges 63’, titled ‘Hudson bay’ (on the stretcher)
Oil on canvas
97 x 194 cm - 37 x 76.4 in.
Provenance
Dominion Gallery, Montreal
Private collection, Paris
Exhibited
Montreal, Dominion Gallery, Mathieu, 1963
Literature
Vie des Arts, Montréal, No. 31, summer 1963, ill. p. 32
André Lanskoy
(1902 - 1976)
Les Joies des autres, 1960
Signed ‘LANSKOY’ (lower right); titled in French and Russian,
inscribed and dated ‘les joies des autres Roquereine 60’
(on the reverse)
Oil on canvas
97 x 146 cm - 38.2 x 57.5 in.
Provenance
Galerie Louis Carré et Cie., Paris
Svensk-Franska Galleriet, Stockholm
Private collection, London
Literature
This work will be included in the forthcoming André Lanskoy
Catalogue raisonné being prepared by André Schoeller
Serge Poliakoff
(1900 - 1969)
Composition abstraite, circa 1966-67
Signed ‘Serge Poliakoff’ (lower left corner)
Oil on canvas
130 x 97 cm - 51.2 x 38.2 in.
Provenance
Marcelle Poliakoff collection
Galerie Melki, Paris
Private collection, France
Certificate
This work is registered in the Archives Poliakoff under the
reference No. 967033
Pierre Soulages
(1919 -)
Peinture 73,5 x 92 cm, 16 novembre 1970
Signed ‘Soulages’ (lower left corner) and dated ‘16 novembre
1970’ (on the reverse)
Oil on canvas
73,5 x 92 cm - 28.9 x 36.2 in.
Provenance
Gimpel-Weitzenhoffer Gallery, New York (1972)
Gimpel Fils Gallery, London (1972)
Moos Gallery, Toronto (1987)
Collection Barry Miller, London (1987)
Galerie Melki, Paris, 1992
Arnold Herstand Gallery, New York
Exhibited
Charleroi, Pierre Soulages, 1973
New York, Gimpel-Weitzenhoffer Gallery, Pierre Soulages, 1977
Literature
Pierre Encrevé, Soulages, complete work, paintings, Editions du
Seuil, Paris, 1994,Vol. II, No. 662, p. 238
Pierre Soulages
(1919 -)
Peinture 222 x 85 cm, 30 décembre 2002
Signed, titled and dated ‘Soulages Peinture 222 x 85 cm
30 Dec 2002’ (on the reverse)
Oil on canvas
222 x 85 cm - 87.4 x 33.5 in.
Provenance
Galerie Karsten Greve, Paris
Private collection, Switzerland
Exhibited
Paris, Galerie Karsten Greve, Pierre Soulages, Peinture
1999-2002, ill. in colour p. 43
Hans Hartung
(1904 - 1989)
T1985 - H13, 1985
Signed and dated ‘HH 1985’ (lower left)
Acrylic on canvas
130 x 102 cm - 51.2 x 40.1 in.
Provenance
Galerie Bodenschatz, Basel
Galerie Daniel Gervis, Paris
Literature
This work will be included in the forthcoming Catalogue raisonné, being prepared by the
Hans Hartung Fondation and Anna-Eva Bergman
Certificate
This work is registered by the Hans Hartung Foundation under the reference No. HH145
Gérard Ernest Schneider
(1896-1986)
Untitled, 1972
Acrylic on paper
106 x 73 cm - 41.7 x 28.7 in.
Provenance
Galerie Ditesheim, Neuchâtel
Zao Wou-ki
(1921 - 2013)
02.05.2004
Signed and dated ‘Zao Wou-ki 2004’ (lower right); signed and titled
‘ZAO WOU-KI 2/2004 Mai’ (on the reverse)
Oil on canvas
65,5 x 81,3 cm - 25.8 x 32 in.
Provenance
Acquired directly from the artist
Private collection, Paris
Certificate
Zao Wou-Ki has confirmed the authenticity of this work
Willem De Kooning
(1904 - 1997)
Composition, 1973
Signed ‘De Kooning’ (lower left)
Oil and acrylic on newspaper
37 x 29 cm - 14.6 x 11.4 in.
Provenance
Private collection, Europe
Robert Motherwell
(1915 - 1991)
Blue with crosses
Oil on canvas
137,1 x 96,5 cm - 54 x 38 in.
Provenance
Private collection, New York
Certificate
The Dedalus Foundation, Inc., has confirmed the authenticity of this work
Karel Appel
(1921-2006)
Deux personnages, 1963
Signed ‘Appel’ (lower left corner)
Oil on canvas
91,4 x 152,4 cm - 36 x 60 in.
Victor Vasarely
(1906 - 1997)
Citra, 1955-1959
Signed ‘Vasarely’ (lower centre); countersigned twice, titled and dated ‘Vasarely Citra 19551959’ (on the reverse)
Provenance
Galerie Denise René-Hans Mayer, Düsseldorf (1972)
Exhibited
Stuttgart, Württ, Kunstverein, No. 344/1
Literature
Marcel Joray, Plastic Arts of the 20th Century, Editions du Griffon, Neuchâtel, 1965, vol. I,
similar artwork, No. 130, ill. p. 116
Yayoi Kusama
(1929 -)
Waves on the lake, 1988
Signed, titled and dated (on the reverse)
Acrylic on canvas
53 x 45,5 cm - 20.9 x 17.9 in.
Certificate
The Yayoi Kusama Studio has confirmed
the authenticity of this work
Flames, 1990
Signed, titled and dated (on the reverse)
Acrylic on canvas
53 x 45 cm - 20.9 x 17.7 in.
Certificate
The Yayoi Kusama Studio has confirmed
the authenticity of this work
Andy Warhol
(1928 - 1987)
Camouflage, 1986
Synthetic polymer paint and silkscreen on canvas
30,5 x 25,4 cm - 12 x 10 in.
Certificate
The Andy Warhol Foundation has confirmed the
authenticity of this work
Anselm Reyle
(1970 -)
Untitled (iridescent box), 2013
Acrylic, glass and mixed media on canvas
182 x 122 x 26 cm - 71.6 x 48 x 10.2 in.
Anish Kapoor
(1954 -)
Untitled, 2011
Stainless steel and gold
130 x 130 x 26 cm - 51.2 x 51.2 x 10.2 in.
David Mach
(1956 -)
Jackson Pollock 2
Mixed media postcards on wood
183 x 183 cm - 72 x 72 in.
Damien Hirst
(1965 -)
Opium, 2000
Signed and numbered ‘Damien Hirst’ (lower right corner)
Lithograph, edition of 500
43 x 48 cm - 16.9 x 18.9 in.
Regina Scully
(1975 -)
In verses
Passage
Oil on canvas
91,5 x 122 cm - 36 x 48 in.
Oil on canvas
137 x 213 cm - 53.9 x 83.8 in.
Edouardo Guelfenbein
(1953 -)
Transient
Acrylic on canvas
146 x 114 cm - 57.5 x 44.9 in.
Jale Celik
(1966 -)
Untitled, 2012
Mixed media on canvas
125 x 125 cm - 49.2 x 49.2 in.
Richard Texier
(1955 -)
Chaosmos, 2011
Acrylic on canvas
146 x 114 cm - 57.5 x 45 in.
Oli G. Johannsson
(1945 -)
56 days in Salo
Acrylic on canvas
145 x 145 cm - 57.1 x 57.1 in.
Hypertrait ‘‘unstable landscapes series’’, 2013
(Hypertext No. 473)
Optics lenses, stainless steel, wood, inkjet ultrachrome k3
on photographic paper, unique piece
80 x 80 cm - 31.5 x 31.5 in.
Umberto Ciceri
(1961 -)
Hypertrait ‘‘square millimeter’’, 2013
(Hypertext No. 510)
Optics lenses, stainless steel, wood, inkjet ultrachrome k3
on photographic paper, unique piece
80 x 80 cm - 31.5 x 31.5 in.
Sakan Kan-no
(1970 -)
Untitled, 2004
Urethane and acrylic on canvas
45 x 91 cm - 17.7 x 35.8 in.
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