Soulages, Pierre

1919 Rodez

France-2022 Sete , France

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

Pierre Soulages: Beyond Black, Le French May Arts Festival Associated Project, Alisan Fine Arts, Hong Kong

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