Our last sale saw an offering of abstract works from Andre Lanskoy to Australian aboriginal artists
Examining some abstract artworks from the latest sale of 20th/21st-century art at Chiswick Auctions demonstrates the breadth of artworks which can be defined under the umbrella terms of abstraction.
Abstract artists often transfer a feeling onto the canvas through the use of colour and the paste of a brushstroke. The abstract works presented in the latest sale demonstrate versatile visual languages and meanings that reveal the obscure nature of abstract art and its continuous development.
Coming from different places and periods of art, these works visually continue to be in dialogue with each other through their use of abstraction as a principle narrative in which to convey their creativity.
Each example is unique due to the manifold of meanings imbued into their making. We want to share some brief history behind our past lots and what they communicated to us as viewers.
André Lanskoy (1902-1976) was attracted to city fairs, Russian folklore and various artistic sights from an early age. His works are filled with bright memories of his earlier days in Russia, where he frequented numerous cabarets, inspired by the frescoes and murals by Sergei Sudeikin (1982-1946), one of the brightest artists and set designers in pre-Revolutionary Russia. Lanskoy began training in the studio of another abstract artist and set designer, Aleksandra Exter (1882-1949) in Kyiv, Ukraine, learning from her the early developments of constructivist art and the new implements in the treatment of colour and form introduced by the forward-thinking avant-garde artists. Looking at the bright splashes of colour in Lanskoy’s work, one can keep imagining and guessing the places of past and present from his life. He moved to Paris to escape the Bolshevik Revolution with his family, and some of his works reflect the nostalgia for the colours and liveliness of Russian memories.
He started to shift towards abstraction after achieving public recognition, completing sales and organising displays of his figurative works. For him, it was the ongoing search for a personal style that inspired him to establish a new practice in abstract art known as ‘lyrical abstraction’. Lanskoy’s hand shatters the figurative elements he depicted before into divergent forms and shapes. Colour becomes the predominant focus of his works as he fills the distorted components with bright tones and hues to evoke a sense of unified representation perceived through the dialogue of colour and its contrast.
CLAUDE VENARD (FRENCH, 1913-1999)
Nature Morte Au Moulin À Café Et Aux Fruits Sold for £8,820 (Includes Buyer's Premium)
For most of his creative career, Claude Venard (1913-1999) focused on understanding the novelty of the post-war feeling within himself and his circle. Based in Paris, the centre of the development of Modern art at the beginning of the 20th century, Venard was not hasty in his search for an abstract style. With a prestigious education in art from École des Arts Appliqués (famously spending exactly two days at the renowned École des Beaux-Arts), he learned how to paint by completing numerous reparations at the Louvre Museum for money and eventually developing his approach to abstract painting.
After being alongside the influential group 'Forces Nouvelles’ (Roger Humblot, André Marchand, and Pierre Tal-Coat) of abstract artists, he started being recognised for the rich impasto and angular shapes of his works. His language suggests what form art can take if one looks at the surroundings with wonder and imagination while remaining optimistic in one's perception of reality. This is evident through his attentiveness to colour and playful shapes. His impasto suggests the feeling of “reality” Venard was depicting on canvas, often applied with a palette knife for a greater three-dimensional visual effect. His views of Paris, with an undeniably French 'joie de vivre’, are reflected in his humble choice of still-life objects. ‘Nature Morte Au Moulin À Café Et Aux Fruits’, sold at Chiswick Auctions, is a prominent abstract example of simplicity uniting with imagination and responsive use of thick paint and colour.
GEORGE CLAESSEN (SRI LANKAN, 1909-1999)
Hallmark (Of the Living) Sold for £3,276 (Includes Buyer's Premium)
Hallmark (Of the Living) by George Claessen (1909-1999) evokes a sense of mystery and wonder in its simplicity. The enigmatic black lines on a light background create shapes and tree patterns that recall how Claessen first started painting during his temporary job as a watchman at the edge of a jungle. We can imagine a young man becoming fascinated with the mystery of night, the elusive shapes of trees and the whispers of wind. It is believed that Claessen turned to abstract painting after an almost spiritual experience that he described as a call to the creation of a new dimension. The lyricism of his works, read in the balance of shape and a sense of movement, produces a healing effect which immerses one in the imaginative world of South Asian traditions. The abstract here recalls a fantasy which do not distort existing forms but demonstrates the movement of light and the malleability of form. To note, Claessen is also known for writing poetry, which he described as an ‘urge of expression in another form’.
DOROTHY NAPANGARDI ROBINSON (AUSTRAILIAN, 1956-2013)
Salt at Mina Mina Sold for £5,292 (Includes Buyer's Premium)
Aboriginal works of art represent a lineage of regional culture that is passed down through generations and is now represented in the context of contemporary art. Looking at Aboriginal works unveils a task for the imagination and an exercise for the sensory organs. Like the presented work 'Salt at Mina Mina' by Dorothy Napangardi Robinson (1956-2013), this large-scale work captivates the eye with its mysterious patterns and sharp tonality. Remarkably works by aboriginal artists continue through first and second generations of Aboriginal artists who were born in the bush and lived close to a traditional nomadic lifestyle. The artist invites us to guess the subject depicted and give it a form based on our imagination. These works unite the art of creating visuality from the avant-garde schools in Europe with the art of portraying mysteries from imaginations used by ethnographic cultural groups.
Abstract art is not merely the art of deformed shapes and figures but a puzzle to be amused by and acknowledged by the discerning eye in the process of figuring out its meaning and message. It is important to note that in order to learn about abstract art, one should enjoy comprehending the many uses it has been employed for.