Pierre Soulages artist retrospective

Pierre Soulages is a major international contemporary artist whose iconic work bridged two centuries (20^th and 21^st). The Musée de Rodez will be featuring an exhibition devoted to the master and inventor of Outrenoir or Beyond Black from June 2023 to January 2024. Soulages passed away one year ago, on October 25, 2022. This exhibition pays homage to this unique and very important figure in art history.

lllustration: Rémy de la Mauvinière (AP-SIPA).

A must-see exhibition featuring Pierre Soulages’ art from 2010 to2022  

Both modern and contemporary, Pierre Soulages (1919-1922) has name has been synonymous with abstract art since the late 1940s. This great artist is best known for his unique way of using black to form reflections and texture, which he called Beyond Black. We featured a blog article about Pierre Soulages’ art several months ago.

A century of artistic creation

Pierre Soulages’ life spanned more than a century and he created a wide range of art, from theatrical decor to engraving, ceramics and illustration. His unprecedented, rich career remains unparalleled to this day. The art that Pierre Soulages created in his later years will be featured in the exhibition Les derniers Soulages: 2010-2022 at the Musée Soulages in Rodez.

Paintings and art by Pierre Soulages that have never been on display

Even in his twilight years, Pierre Soulages continued to create art. Museum director Benoît Ducron reports that the artist created approximately 300 paintings in the last ten years of his life, of which, some 50 will featured in this temporary exhibition. They have been reunited from private collections and the artist’s studio.

Rodez, France and the Pierre Soulages Museum

Soulages’ very last painting was created on May 15, 2022, less than six months before his death. He made this painting on his terrace overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. This final, nostalgic painting will stand alongside six other late works by Pierre Soulages that were donated by the artist's widow. A group of five large-format vertical paintings will also on display for the first time. The exhibition will be on view until January 2024 so you still have time to visit Rodez if you haven't already!

Pierre Soulages is still making headlines even after his death

The book “D’une rive à l’autre”

The editor of Actes Sud recently published an excellent book entitled, Soulages, d’une rive à l’autre. If you speak French, this is the perfect book for going on a deep dive into Pierre Soulages’s life and art. It was written by Michaël de Saint-Chéron and Matthieu Séguéla.

It brings you on a journey to discover Pierre Soulages’ influences that allowed him to hone his unique artistic voice, from archaeology to cave art, the abstract movement, Conques and Romanesque art. Great names such as Picabia, Hartung, Atlan, Senghor, Georges Duby and Jacques Le Goff appear in this fascinating book. It also covers Pierre Soulages’ love and fascination for Japan and its culture.

The book also features an erudite analysis of Beyond Balck through the lens of its ability to confront twentieth-century history and the dialogue between cultures and the arts.

Mysterious liquefied paint

Pierre Soulages has also been in the news recently because the paint used in some of his pieces created in the 1960s has been liquefying.

Scientists are puzzled by this strange phenomenon and have not been able to explain why it is happening. Normally, as paint ages, it cracks and becomes brittle. A complete contrast to what is happening to some of Soulages’ art.

An investigation into why Pierre Soulages’ art is melting

An inspection is being conducted by the CNRS and the Saint-Étienne Optics Institute in order to try and figure out why Soulages’ paintings are melting. They also hope to find ways of preventing or limiting the destruction of his paintings. The pieces created between December 1959 and March 1960 are the only ones that seem to be affected.  

So far, two arguments have been put forward: poor-quality paint sold by the supplier and sub-optimal drying conditions. The art restorer Pauline Hélou de la Grandière, who specializes in retouching Pierre Soulages’ art stated, "These are paintings that were exhibited immediately after they were created. Some of the exhibitions took place in far off locations, so the paintings were immediately stored in dark crates and were subjected to large temperature swings." Hopefully the experts will be able to solve this mystery and save these paintings!