Lot 3413 - A207 PostWar & Contemporary - Thursday, 30. November 2023, 02.00 PM
SERGE POLIAKOFF
(Moscow 1900–1969 Paris)
Rouge bleues gris (diptyque). 1964.
Gouache on paper, on board (2 sheets).
Signed and dated lower right: SERGE POLIAKOFF 64.
96 × 64 cm.
This work is recorded in the Archives Serge Poliakoff under the number: 864016. We thank Thaddée Poliakoff for his kind assistance.
Provenance:
- Erker Galerie, St. Gallen (verso with the label).
- Purchased from the above in 1984 by the present owner, since then private collection Switzerland.
Literature: Poliakoff, Alexis: Catalogue Raisonné de l'oeuvre de Serge Poliakoff, Vol. IV 1963-1965, Munich, cat. no. 64-125 (with colour ill.)
Exhibitions:
- 1968 Caen, Serge Poliakoff. Théatre et Maison de la Culture, 6 January - 4 February.
- 1984 St. Gallen, Serge Poliakoff. Bilder, Gouaches. Galerie Im Erker, 16 July - 22 September.
In this winter auction we offer two typical works by Serge Poliakoff. The first, a gouache from his early period in the 1940s (lot 3415), and the second, a gouache which exemplifies his overall mature oeuvre and late work of the 1960s (lot 3413). Through these two works we have a wonderful glimpse of the artist's painterly and compositional development.
In the early 1940s, Serge Poliakoff created a limited and rare series of works that appear to be in search of the abstract. He depicted forms that do not yet belong to geometry and symmetry. Floating, organic forms that make the viewer think of flora or fauna, but which are pulled in the direction of abstraction, as revealed in the title of this early gouache: "Composition Abstraite". His early work of the 1940s is characterised rather by brown earthy tones. Isolated playful areas of colour loosen up the compositions.
Ten years later, Poliakoff expanded his colour palette until he found his unmistakable style, to which he remained faithful: he juxtaposed strong, colourful tones, as in the work on paper presented here, "Rouge bleues gris (diptyque)" from 1964, searching for unity in the selection of strong colours, with their smooth transitions. Interlocking building blocks that come together to form an often intensely coloured construct. Blue, red, black, green - asymmetrical areas of bright primary colours gather closely together and seem loosely and randomly, almost organically, drawn to each other. His compositions give the appearance of having been created without a strict preliminary design, yet Serge Poliakoff worked with a very clear, recognisable framework of basic lines and axes that articulate the pictorial surface. Extending from the corners or from the middle of the lateral edges, the forms meet in the centre of the picture. On these axes the cell-like areas of colour are loosely and intuitively arranged next to each other. Here again, this is especially emphasised by the diptych format: two paper supports which bisect the composition horizontally in the middle. There is a sense of movement that carefully interweaves the dynamic organic colour surfaces at the centre of this composition.
While these two works are very individual in nature, composition and vibrancy, we recognise that Poliakoff remained true to his visual language throughout his entire oeuvre.
Provenance:
- Erker Galerie, St. Gallen (verso with the label).
- Purchased from the above in 1984 by the present owner, since then private collection Switzerland.
Literature: Poliakoff, Alexis: Catalogue Raisonné de l'oeuvre de Serge Poliakoff, Vol. IV 1963-1965, Munich, cat. no. 64-125 (with colour ill.)
Exhibitions:
- 1968 Caen, Serge Poliakoff. Théatre et Maison de la Culture, 6 January - 4 February.
- 1984 St. Gallen, Serge Poliakoff. Bilder, Gouaches. Galerie Im Erker, 16 July - 22 September.
In this winter auction we offer two typical works by Serge Poliakoff. The first, a gouache from his early period in the 1940s (lot 3415), and the second, a gouache which exemplifies his overall mature oeuvre and late work of the 1960s (lot 3413). Through these two works we have a wonderful glimpse of the artist's painterly and compositional development.
In the early 1940s, Serge Poliakoff created a limited and rare series of works that appear to be in search of the abstract. He depicted forms that do not yet belong to geometry and symmetry. Floating, organic forms that make the viewer think of flora or fauna, but which are pulled in the direction of abstraction, as revealed in the title of this early gouache: "Composition Abstraite". His early work of the 1940s is characterised rather by brown earthy tones. Isolated playful areas of colour loosen up the compositions.
Ten years later, Poliakoff expanded his colour palette until he found his unmistakable style, to which he remained faithful: he juxtaposed strong, colourful tones, as in the work on paper presented here, "Rouge bleues gris (diptyque)" from 1964, searching for unity in the selection of strong colours, with their smooth transitions. Interlocking building blocks that come together to form an often intensely coloured construct. Blue, red, black, green - asymmetrical areas of bright primary colours gather closely together and seem loosely and randomly, almost organically, drawn to each other. His compositions give the appearance of having been created without a strict preliminary design, yet Serge Poliakoff worked with a very clear, recognisable framework of basic lines and axes that articulate the pictorial surface. Extending from the corners or from the middle of the lateral edges, the forms meet in the centre of the picture. On these axes the cell-like areas of colour are loosely and intuitively arranged next to each other. Here again, this is especially emphasised by the diptych format: two paper supports which bisect the composition horizontally in the middle. There is a sense of movement that carefully interweaves the dynamic organic colour surfaces at the centre of this composition.
While these two works are very individual in nature, composition and vibrancy, we recognise that Poliakoff remained true to his visual language throughout his entire oeuvre.
CHF 60 000 / 80 000 | (€ 61 860 / 82 470)
Sold for CHF 81 250 (including buyer’s premium)
All information is subject to change.