An intimate original work on paper by André Lanskoy, whose distinctive approach to abstraction transformed colour and fragmented form into dense, rhythmic compositions. Despite its modest dimensions, this gouache possesses a remarkable visual intensity: interlocking shapes in black, white, red, ochre and grey create a compact composition that seems to shift continuously between structure and movement.
The small format is particularly appealing. Viewed from a distance, the work reads as a concentrated abstract composition; seen close up, the physicality of the gouache and Lanskoy’s individual brushstrokes become much more apparent. Rather than diminishing its presence, the scale intensifies the experience, condensing Lanskoy’s energetic visual language into an almost jewel-like painting.
Lanskoy’s mature work was built around precisely this interplay of colour, rhythm and fragmented form. Having moved away from figurative painting during the 1930s, he became closely associated with the development of lyrical abstraction in post-war Paris, creating a highly personal vocabulary in which colour itself became a structural element.
Importantly, this is a unique work rather than an edition. It is executed in gouache on paper and monogrammed A.L. at the lower left. Its authenticity is further supported by a photographic certificate of authenticity issued by André Schoeller in Paris in 2009, providing valuable documentation for an otherwise undated work.
