Known as France’s preeminent artist, Pierre Soulages is renowned for his vibrant black paintings that have captivated audiences in museums worldwide. Often associated with abstract expressionism, his dedication to experimenting with paint and the extraordinary textures on his canvases set him apart. In remembrance of his passing at the age of 102 last October, a new retrospective at Lévy Gorvy Dayan Gallery titled “Pierre Soulages: From Midnight to Twilight” pays tribute to his legacy.
Soulages made his mark in the 1940s, quickly gaining recognition from prestigious venues like the Venice Biennale and the influential Betty Parsons Gallery in New York City. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, he methodically produced paintings featuring bold, thick smears of black. However, it was in 1979 that Soulages experienced a revelation that would shape the rest of his artistic career, leading to his “outrenoir” or “beyond black” body of work. Describing his discovery, Soulages said, “In this extreme, I saw the negation of black. The different textures weakly reflected light, and from the darkness emerged a clarity and pictorial light that awakened my desire to paint.”
In an interview discussing the retrospective, Dominique Lévy, an art dealer and co-founder of Lévy Gorvy Dayan who worked closely with Soulages, shared that one of their goals for this exhibition was to generate momentum for a comprehensive retrospective at a major museum in the United States. Lévy expressed her belief that while Soulages has been celebrated by European museums, including being one of only three living artists to have a major retrospective at the Louvre (joining Picasso and Chagall), he has not received the recognition he deserves from American art institutions.
Titled “From Midnight to Twilight,” the exhibition encompasses a significant portion of Soulages’s oeuvre, starting with works from the 1950s and 1960s. Educational resources at the show provide insights into the artistic milieu Soulages inhabited as he gained prominence in the US. During his first visit in 1957, he became friends with fellow abstract expressionist Mark Rothko, with whom he initially clashed but later found common ground. He also had a studio visit with Willem de Kooning during the same trip. Visitors can peruse letters Soulages received from New York art world stalwarts like Robert Motherwell, Helen Frankenthaler, and influential gallery owner Leo Castelli.
The highlight of the exhibition is Soulages’s “beyond black” period, which dominated his art for 40 years following his groundbreaking discovery in 1979. Lévy explained that Soulages realized he could use black as a means to reflect light and subsequently produced a series of striking works entirely in black until his death. These distinctive pieces were created by applying thick layers of paint and then digging and scraping through, resulting in artworks that blur the line between painting and sculpture. The beyond black works are mesmerizing in their textured surfaces, formed through multiple horizontal lines and boxes etched into various shades of black and gray. They capture attention with their minimalism and the forms Soulages manages to extract from the paint, a testament to his meticulous process. As Soulages once said, “What matters to me is what happens on the canvas. No two brushstrokes are ever the same. Every stroke has its own specific and irreducible attributes.”
While Soulages is loosely associated with abstract expressionism and enjoyed the benefits of exhibiting alongside its proponents, he always resisted being pigeonholed into any specific movement. Lévy described the beyond black works as a departure from the constraints of abstract expressionism. “In ’79, the gesture to break from figuration feels dated to [Soulages],” she explained. The beyond black works are distinct from what his contemporaries were producing. Lévy emphasized their unique qualities, saying, “It’s never just a black surface; it’s like an excavation. They absorb any atmosphere, any light, and they go beyond black because they reflect the light. I’ve never seen anything like them, except maybe with Mark Rothko—the light pulsates. Every color imaginable resides within this black. You feel like you’re in the presence of something exceptional; they’re quite enigmatic.”
Soulages vehemently maintained that the paintings from his beyond black period were not merely comprised of black but originated from “a different country from black.” This notion gave birth to the term “outrenoir,” as Soulages drew a parallel to the French expression “outre-Rhin,” which means “beyond the Rhine” and refers to Germany. He sought to depict not external perspectives on people and places but internal experiences. Lévy stated, “For him, a painting is not a window; it’s a wall. These paintings are monumental walls.”
Soulages’s deep affinity for black traces back to his teenage years when he discovered prehistoric cave art during an archaeological expedition. He regarded this ancient art as more profound and meaningful than subsequent artistic styles that emerged over centuries of human civilization. In a 2014 interview with Interview magazine, he remarked, “It’s fascinating to think that as soon as man came into existence, he started painting. As I said, I’ve always loved black, and I realized that from the beginning, man went into completely dark caves to paint.”
“From Midnight to Twilight” serves as a heartfelt homage to an artist with whom Lévy shared a deep personal connection. She spared no effort in curating this fitting tribute to Soulages on the anniversary of his passing. Most of the pieces displayed were generously lent by significant art institutions such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, and the Art Institute of Chicago. The curation carefully selected works, each with its own significance, to offer audiences a comprehensive view of Soulages as an artist. Educational and contextual materials enhance visitors’ understanding of an artist who has yet to be fully introduced to the American art scene. Lévy admitted that assembling an exhibition of this magnitude in such a short timeframe was a daunting task.
“From Midnight to Twilight” makes a compelling case for Soulages’s rightful place among the esteemed artists honored by major American art institutions. It also illustrates an artist whose work has stood the test of time, offering inspiration to contemporary artists. As Lévy aptly summarized, “He is a master of courage, generosity, and radical thinking. These qualities transcend time.”
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