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CERCLES

2016

Geneviève CLAISSE

Painting

162 x 130 cm

Born in 1935, Geneviève Claisse is a historic artist of the Abstraction Geometrical as Vasarely or Dewasne.

The investigation into forms and colours developed by Geneviève Claisse provides the spectator, who admires the various pictorial periods of the artist, with a feeling of depth and a unique dynamism which goes beyond the simplicity of the forms employed. Circles appear in the work of Geneviève Claisse in the mid-1960s and the artist extensively explores this pure and perfect form. The colour associations are glowing, and the contrasts are very bright. The emphasis on this theme exposes the extraordinary capacity of the artist to consolidate, on one hand, the rigour of the aesthetic, while on the other, the purity of the energy. Her circles superimpose or juxtapose, creating an impression of rotation and depth.

Geneviève CLAISSE

France

Born in 1935

Geneviève Claisse is a historical artist from the French school of geometrical abstraction, which also includes Vasarely and Dewasne. Since 1958 she has created works in keeping with this precise style, drawing on simple shapes and colour. She first used the circle theme that inspired so many of her subsequent works in 1964 with ‘Terre Siècle’. She expressed the motif in an infinite number of ways, never straying from the simple style. In reality, her art always conveys movement, using different volumes in each piece of work. The ‘Cercles’ album of screen prints was published in 1967 following Claisse's study in the area, illustrating this period of her artistic career.

When asked why she believed in expression through painting, Geneviève Claisse replied, “I don't know how to use a screwdriver.” That may be so, but she undeniably knows how to use canvas and paint. No form of expression, technique, or material is off limits to Claisse. At the moment, however, she believes that painting is still the best medium for studying the foundations of art because it is the most limitless, fluid form.