Soulages Pierre

1919 Rodez, France-2022 Sete, France

Introduction

The painter and sculptor Pierre Soulages is one of France's most important artists, with an impressive career spanning over seven decades. He is known as a master of post-war abstraction, leader of Tachisme (the French counterpart to Action painting in the United States), and "the painter of black," owing to the hue's unique properties as both a colour and a non-colour, and ability to represent the natural, opposing forces of order and disorder. Soulages has said, "My instrument is not black but the light reflected from the black." He sees light as a work material that reflects off of the ridges and textures of the blackness, allowing the black to emerge from its colour-void as a glossy and dynamic "colour" composed of organised light.

Pierre Soulages was born in Rodez, France in 1919 and began to paint while a teenager. At the age of eighteen he travelled to Paris to familiarize himself with the art scene and found inspiration in Picasso and Cezanne. During the years of World War II he frequented the École des Beaux-Arts in Montpellier, although not formally enrolled as a student. In 1946 he moved to Courbevoie, outside Paris, where he set up a studio and began producing abstract works characterised by heavy black brush strokes. From the beginning, he entitled his works simply Peinture, together with the dimensions and the exact dating of the respective work. He befriended other artists—including Hans Hartung, Francis Picabia, and Fernand Léger—and had his first exhibition at the Salon des Surindépendants in 1947. Just one year later, the work of the young artist was discovered in Germany. Participation in the 1948 seminal group exhibition Französische abstrakte Malerei was Soulages’ first exhibition abroad, travelling to seven cities throughout Germany. In the same year, James Johnson Sweeney, former curator of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and later director of the Guggenheim Museum in New York, became aware of the artist. The international recognition accorded to Soulages during this creative period is further reflected in his three appearances at Documenta: I (1955), II (1959) and III (1964).

Since 1979, the artist has been concerned exclusively with a series of mainly monochrome paintings he as defined as Outrenoirs (translated "beyond black"), known for their effect of bottomless depth created by the interplay of texture and light. Soulages applies various layers of paint, then manipulates the tarry surface into furrows and planes through the use of self-made tools, including brushes, rollers and spatulas, and objects such as spoons and bits of rubber. In recent years he has shifted his focus on the interplay between regions of glossy and matte, exploring the densities and hardness of pigments within the spectrum of black. 

A highlight of Soulages' extensive exhibition history was the retrospective held by the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris in 2009 held in honour of the artist’s 90th birthday. Alisan Fine Arts organised Soulages' ever first exhibition in Hong Kong in 2019 as part of Le French May Arts Festival. Today, his works are featured in the collections of more than 300 international museums, including the MoMA in New York, the Tate in London and the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. In 2014, the Musée Soulages opened in his hometown of Rodez. 



BIOGRAPHY
1919    Born in Rodez, France
1937    Travelled to Paris at the age of eighteen
1939-45    Frequented the École des Beaux-Arts de Montpellier, France during World War II
1946    Moved to Paris, France
1950s One of the leaders of Tachisme art movement (the French counterpart to Action painting in the United States) including Hans Hartung and Zao Wou-ki
2014    Musée Soulages opened in Rodez, France
2022    Passed away in Sète, France


SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2019-2020

  • Soulages at the Louvre, Musée du Louvre, Paris, France 

2019

2018

  • Pierre Soulages, L'ARC, Le Creusot, France 
  • Soulages: A Retrospective, Fondation Pierre Gianadda (in collaboration with Centre Pompidou Paris), Martigny, France 
  • Noir/Lumière, Ludwig Museum Koblenz, Koblenz, Germany 

2017

  • Les Soulages du Centre Pompidou, Musée Soulages, Rodez, France
  • Leidenschaft. Passion. – Im Fokus: Pierre Soulages, Museum Art.Plus, Donaueschingen, Germany  

2016

  • Noir c’est noir? Les Outrenoirs de Pierre Soulages, École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
  • Soulages. Papiers, Musée Picasso, Antibes, France  
  • Pierre Soulages: Le noir, Museum Folkwang, Essen, Germany  

2014

  • Pierre Soulages: Les Outrenoir(s), Musée Soulages, Rodez, France 

2013      

  • Soulages XXIe Siècle, Villa Médicis, Rome, Italy

2012

  • Soulages XXIe siècle, Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon, Lyon, France 

2011

  • Les Sujets de l’abstraction, Musée Fabre, Montpellier, France 
  • Les Sujets de l’abstraction, 1946-1962 – Fondation Gandur pour l’Art, Musée Rath, Geneve, Switzerland 

2010

  • Pierre Soulages, Museo de La Ciudad de México, Mexico City, Mexico  
  • Soulages, Verre, Cartons des Vitraux de Conques, Musée Fabre, Montpellier, France  

2009

  • Soulages au Salon Carré du Louvre, Musée du Louvre, Paris, France  
  • Soulages. Le Temps Du Papier, Musée D’Art Moderne et Contemporain, Strasbourg, France  
  • Paris Soulages, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France  

2007

  • Prix Julio González, Instituto Valenciano de Arte Moderno, Valencia, Spain 

2006

  • Pierre Soulages, Painting The Light, Sammlung Essl, Vienna, Austria 
  • Estampes de Pierre Soulages, Salle D’Exposition Carmel, Tarbes, France  

2005

  • Pierre Soulages, Musée Ordrupgaard, Copenhagen, Sweden 
  • Pierre Soulages: American Selections, Trumbull Museum, Howland, United States 

2003

  • Soulages. L'Œuvre Imprimé, Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Paris, France 

2002

  • Pierre Soulages: Eaux-Fortes et Bronzes, Musée Rignault, Saint-Cirq-Lapopie, France 

2001

  • Pierre Soulages: Lumière Du Noir, Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg, Russia

2000

  • Soulages: 82 Peintures, Les Abattoirs, Toulouse, France 

1999

  • Soulages, Œuvres Récentes, 1994-99, Musée Fabre, Montpellier, France 
  • Pierre Soulages: Rétrospective, Kunstmuseum, Berne, Switzerland  

1998

  • Pierre Soulages, Centro Cultural, Logrono, Spain 

1997

  • Pierre Soulages: Rétrospective, Centro de Exposiciones y Congresos, Saragosse, Spain 

1996

  • Pierre Soulages, Centre D’Art Contemporain, Embrun, France  
  • Pierre Soulages: Noir-Lumière, Musée D’Art Moderne, Paris, France ; Musée des Beaux-Arts, Montréal, Canada; Museu de Arte, São Paulo, Brazil 

1995

  • Soulages, Fondation Veranneman, Kruishoutem, Belgium 

1993

  • Pierre Soulages: une rétrospective, National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul, Korea; Fine Arts Museum, Beijing, China; Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Taipei, Taiwan 

1992

  • Pierre Soulages: Polyptyques 1979-1991, Maison des Arts Georges Pompidou, Cajarc, France

1991

  • Pierre Soulages, Museum Moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig, Vienna, Austria 

1989

  • Pierre Soulages: Rétrospective, Musée des Beaux-Arts, Nantes, France  
  • Pierre Soulages: Rétrospective, Instituto Valenciano de Arte Moderno, Valencia, Spain 
  • Pierre Soulages: Rétrospective, Museum Fridericianum, Kassel, Germany

1987

  • Pierre Soulages, Musée Saint Pierre Art Contemporain, Lyon, France 

1986

  • Peintures 1984-1986, FIAC, Galerie de France, Paris, France 

1984

  • Pierre Soulages: Rétrospective, Seibu Museum of Art, Tokyo, Japan 

1983

  • Pierre Soulages: Rétrospective, Musée D'Unterlinden, Colmar, France 

1979

  • Soulages: Peintures Récentes, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France 

1977

  • Pierre Soulages: Bronzes et Peintures Sur Papier, FIAC, Galerie de France, Paris, France 

1976

  • Pierre Soulages: Rétrospective, Musée D’Art et D’Industrie, Saint-Etienne, France; Museu de Arte Moderna, Rio de Janeiro; Museu da Universidad, São Paulo; Fundaçào Cultural, São Paulo, Brazil; Museo, Maracaïbo; Museo de Bellas Artes, Caracas, Venezuela  

1975

  • Pierre Soulages: Rétrospective, Museu de Arte Moderno, Mexico City, Mexico; Musée Fabre, Montpellier, France; Salas del Patrimonio Artistico y Cultural, Madrid, Spain; Fundaçao Calouste Gulbenkian, Lisbonne, Portugal

1974

  • Pierre Soulages: Rétrospective, Musée Dynamique, Dakar, Senegal  

1973

  • Pierre Soulages: Rétrospective, Musée D’Art et D’Histoire, Neuchâtel, Germany  
  • Pierre Soulages: Peintures 1964-1972, Palais des Beaux-Arts, Charleroi, France; Rädhus Gentofte, Copenhagen, Sweden; Nordjyllands Kunstmuseum, Aalborg, Denmark; Henie Onstad Art Center, Hovikodden, Norway  

1968

  • Soulages, Musée D’Art Contemporain, Montréal; Musée Du Québec, Québec, Canada

1967

  • Pierre Soulages: Rétrospective, Musée National D’Art Moderne, Paris, France 

1966

  • Pierre Soulages, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, United States 

1962

  • Pierre Soulages: Retrospective, Massachussets Institute of Technology, Boston, United States 

1960

  • Pierre Soulages: Rétrospective, Kestner Gesellschaft, Hanover; Folkwang Museum, Essen, Germany; Gemeente Museum, The Hague, Netherlands; Kunsthaus, Zurich, Switzerland 

1949

  • Pierre Soulages, Galerie Lydia Conti, Paris, France 

 

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2019

  • The Collection of the Foundation: A Vision for Painting, Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris, France

1988

  • Rendezvous: Masterpieces from the Centre Georges Pompidou and the Guggenheim Museum, Guggenheim Museum, New York, United States 

1977

  • Paris-New York, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France 

1953

  • Younger European Painters, Guggenheim Museum, New York, United States  

1948

  • Französische abstrakte Malerei, Württembergisher Kustverein, Stuttgart, Germany  

1947

  • Salon des Surindépendants, Paris, France

 

SELECTED AWARDS
2015    La Légion d’honneur, Paris, France 
2006    Prix Julio González, Valencia Austrian Decoration for Science and Art, Vienna, Austria 
1992    Praemium Imperiale Prize for Painting, Japan Art Association, Tokyo, Japan 
1986    Grand Prix National for Painting, Paris, France 
1979    Foreign Honorary Member for Art, American Academy of Arts and Letters, New York, United States 
1976    Rembrandt Award, Amsterdam, Netherlands  
1975    Grand Prix for Painting, Paris, France


SELECTED MUSEUM COLLECTIONS
Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France
Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, Paris, France
Tate Gallery, London, United Kingdom
Guggenheim Museum, New York, United States
Museum of Modern Art, New York, United States
National Gallery of Art, Washington, United States
Fogg Art Gallery, Harvard University, Boston, United States
Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, United States
Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, United States
Aldrich Museum, Ridgefield, United States
Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, United States
Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Montreal, Canada
Museu de Arte Moderna, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil