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 Abstract art appeared at the beginning of the 20st century and it was a genuine revolution: art besoin de représenter la réalité. Certes, des formes non figuratives avaient été utilisées bien avant, didn’t need to represent reality anymore. Of course, non-figurative patterns had been used long mais elles étaient vouées à des fins purement décoratives ou d’embellissement. Le courant abstrait before, but they were solely for decoration or embellishment. The abstract movement shaped up s’annonce avec les Impressionnistes qui ne cherchent plus seulement à faire une représentation with the Impressionists, who not only voluntarily didn’t try to do a faithful depiction of reality but fidèle de la réalité mais à exprimer les impressions fugitives, puis un peu plus tard, avec les Fauves reflected momentary impressions. A bit later the Fauvists played with colours boldly and then the qui jouent audacieusement avec les couleurs. Viennent ensuite les Cubistes qui fragmentent leurs Cubists fragmented their subject in geometrical shapes. From all of these movements the idea that sujets en formes géométriques. colour, form and texture could be the “subject” of the painting. The pioneers of abstract art as De ces mouvements et recherches découla l’idée que les couleurs, les formes et les textures we know it today were Kandinsky, Kupka, Malevitch and Mondrian, who as early as 1910 painted pouvaient elles-mêmes devenir le « sujet » d’une œuvre d’art. Les véritables pionniers de l’art images where nothing deliberately referred to the real world. Abstract art spread worldwide after abstrait sont Kandinsky, Kupka, Malevitch et Mondrian qui dès les années 1910 peignent des images 1945 and different movements emerged: geometrical abstraction, abstract expressionism, op-art, où toute référence au monde extérieur est délibérément supprimée. L’art abstrait devient un dripping, minimalism… phénomène mondial après 1945 et plusieurs formes apparaissent : abstraction géométrique, expressionisme abstrait, tachisme, op art, minimalisme, etc. 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 Mais qu’est ce qui fait qu’une œuvre d’art qui ne représente rien en particulier puisse être aussi any work of art but the reason why abstract art has the potential to be so powerful is that it lets captivante ? L’art abstrait fait appel à l’interprétation personnelle, à l’imagination. Bien sûr on peut the mind wander freely, keeping the conscious distractions to a minimum. We are not guided, there dire cela de toute œuvre d’art, mais la raison pour laquelle l’art abstrait a le potentiel d’être si are no references, we are free to explore the artwork and assign our own meaning to the shapes, puissant c’est que c’est une forme d’art qui permet à l’esprit de vagabonder en s’affranchissant de colours and texture of the piece. We look at abstract art in the same way that we listen to music, toute référence consciente. On n’est pas guidé, on n’a plus de références, chacun interprète à sa we don’t try to hold on to the notes, but we let the melody wash over us. 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, Opera Gallery Geneva has carefully selected for you over thirty pieces of abstract art by modern on se laisse simplement emporter par la mélodie. 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 Opera Gallery Genève a sélectionné pour vous plus d’une trentaine d’œuvres abstraites d’artistes its waves, be carried away by its currents… 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 Gilles Dyan Jordan Lahmi Gilles Dyan Directeur Fondateur et Président Director Founder and Chairman Opera Gallery Genève Opera Gallery Group Opera Gallery Geneva 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 Hans Hartung Paris, Galerie Karsten Greve, Pierre Soulages, Peinture (1904 - 1989) 1999-2002, ill. in colour p. 43
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 1955- 1959’ (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 Oil on canvas 91,5 x 122 cm - 36 x 48 in. 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. www.operagallery.com
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