Sixty Works by Modern Masters - Flipbook - Page 107
Serge Poliakoff
Serge Poliakoff
Russian, 1906 - 1969
Composition, 1966
Oil on canvas
28 x 36¼ inches / 72.4 x 92 cm
Signed and dated lower right: Serge Poliakoff 10-10-66
Poliakoff used painting as a means
for his search for pure form in
complete abstraction. The present
work features two abstract forms of
interlocking coloured shapes painted
with an alluring, grainy impasto.
The dialogue created between these
forms is intended to seduce the
viewer into reaching a higher level
of consciousness, as did the tradition
of Russian icon painting familiar to
Poliakoff.
The artist’s abstractions make up a
body of work which is akin to the
artist’s wider search for the sublime:
‘All the great masters developed only
one unique theme. This theme, far
from being superficial, comes from
the depths and they were never
exhausted by the number of works
produced. If you do not have a
defined theme to explore for years, it
is better not to be a painter.’
106
Provenance
Private collection, France
Anon. sale, Christie's, London, 2 July 1998, lot 305
Private collection
This painting will be included in the
forthcoming catalogue raisonné of paintings
by the artist currently in preparation by
Alexis Poliakoff