Serge Poliakoff's Composition may, at first glance, appear to be a simple assembly of brightly coloured patches. Big mistake … It is, in fact, the result of profound reflection and a very thorough composition work. Though Poliakoff's works seem to look alike, they are differentiated by their construction. Their creator constantly questioned the way in which the space of the canvas was occupied. He sought to populate them with shapes of all kinds, interlocking, overlapping and intersecting each other.
What the artist sought, is balance. In Poliakoff's world, the curve is queen, the rigid right angle and axis of symmetry do not exist and shapes, whether invented or previously created and used, are adorned with the most beautiful colours. Poliakoff used concentrated colours in refined shades and applied paint by creating effects of transparency or matter, to absorb or play on the light. In these compositions, the silence of the shapes rivals the purity of the colours.
Poliakoff adopted the single title as a principle: in opposition to his complex research of painting, his paintings all bear a single title: Composition, to which an adjective is sometimes added … (Yellow Composition, Abstract Composition).
Serge Poliakoff's Composition may, at first glance, appear to be a simple assembly of brightly coloured patches. Big mistake … It is, in fact, the result of profound reflection and a very thorough composition work. Though Poliakoff's works seem to look alike, they are differentiated by their construction. Their creator constantly questioned the way in which the space of the canvas was occupied. He sought to populate them with shapes of all kinds, interlocking, overlapping and intersecting each other.
What the artist sought, is balance. In Poliakoff's world, the curve is queen, the rigid right angle and axis of symmetry do not exist and shapes, whether invented or previously created and used, are adorned with the most beautiful colours. Poliakoff used concentrated colours in refined shades and applied paint by creating effects of transparency or matter, to absorb or play on the light. In these compositions, the silence of the shapes rivals the purity of the colours.
Poliakoff adopted the single title as a principle: in opposition to his complex research of painting, his paintings all bear a single title: Composition, to which an adjective is sometimes added … (Yellow Composition, Abstract Composition).
