Jean-Marie haessle December 14, 2010 - january 15, 2011 In the corner of my eye 1
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FRONT COVER AND RIGHT: RED II, 2010 Oil on canvas 66”
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66”
Jean-marie haessle December 14, 2010 - january 15, 2011 In the corner of my eyes
GalleRy DirectoRs David Eichholtz & Richard Barger
David Richard Contemporary 130 Lincoln Avenue, Suite D, Santa Fe, NM 87501 | p (505) 983-9555 | f (505) 983-1284 www.DavidRichardContemporary.com | info@DavidRichardContemporary.com
Lyrcical chromatic paintings by Jean-marie haessle 2
Robert C. Morgan is trained both as a sculpture and art historian. Author of many books and essays, he is largely recognized for his art criticism. In 1999, he was given the first Arcale award in Salamanca (Spain) for his work as an international critic. He is a prolific writer, a dedicated teacher, an global lecturer, and continues to produce and exhibit his paintings.
At the outset, here are two issues I find
any institution to prove its worth. Thus, his
consistently present in the paintings of
pronounced individuality revealed the first
Jean-Marie Haessle: One, he is an indelible
tremolos of Modernism seeking liberation
Classicist as much as Poussin or Ingres; and
from an overtly ingested and decadent
secondly, he carries a certain propensity for
cultural hierarchy. Through the rejection of
concealing his Classical posture in paintings
the latter, the heraldic and radical lineage
that express often unexpected, yet exuber-
of abstract painting came to emerge as the
ant varieties of color. In doing so, Haessle
avant-garde of the twentieth century.
persuades some viewers that he is, in fact, the opposite of a Classicist, namely a die-
While this history has little to do with Has-
hard Romantic. I have chosen to keep the
sele’s conscious intentions as an artist, giv-
capital letters in either case simply to sug-
en that he has spent the greater part of his
gest that what stands behind these two
career as a mature painter living and work-
stylistic tendencies, which I believe vacil-
ing in the SoHo section of Manhattan, I find
late through the paintings of Haessle, is es-
it curious that the artist discovered painting
sentially the history of Salon painting from
as an adolescent in the northeastern region
the late eighteenth into the mid-nineteenth
of France where he could not have missed
century. This was the fertile period of Salon
some of the history pertaining to the direc-
de Paris decades before its decline became
tion in which his own paintings would finally
evident in the late nineteenth century soon
emerge.
after the suppression of the Commune in
If I were to name a third issue in Hassle’s
1872. This decline was accompanied by the
paintings, I would cite the artist’s seamless
slanderous accusations of a socially insouci-
equivocation between his use of figura-
ant painter, Gustave Courbet, who insisted
tion and abstract subject matter. In saying
that his art did not require the sanction of
this, I am implying that his technical gifts
in both painting and drawing are consid-
This is further abetted by the quadrilateral
erable. They were acquired not through
equality of the three paintings. A rectilinear
formal Classical training, but derived from
surface would push the composition in one
a remarkable, nearly alchemical sense of
direction of another, thus giving a different
observation. Haessle’s desire to see and
tension to the relationship of the hues and
to study a painting constitutes a veritable
values. By employing a large square format
act of passion, which is the inevitable force
-- a format also used by the painter Agnes
behind a searing energy in which he con-
Martin, though toward achieving another
centrates on form and color. No matter how
effect -- Haessle contains the gestural ma-
high or low the degree of abstraction, the
neuvers of his brush within the surface of
artist manages to refine every mark within
the painting. Just as Mondrian employed
the structure of his brushwork. The phe-
the square format to achieve tension and
nomenon sensed within the mind’s eye is
balance, particularly in his neoplastic paint-
clearly revealed in the act of painting. This
ings of the twenties, Haessle creates a ten-
tendency multiplies through the artist’s
sion and balance through color. In doing so,
ability to infuse chromatic stillness into vast
there is an unrepentant concentration that
open spaces, thus hermetically transform-
enfolds the surface and keeps his eye on the
ing pigment into luminescence.
mark without deviating from the premises.
A good example would be the quadrilateral
Essentially these paintings are not mere-
Red, Yellow, and Blue triumvirate included
ly about chromatic effect, but about the
in the current exhibition, perhaps the center
control of light.
pieces of the show. While Haessle does not
source may become a concern during the
consider these paintings a triptych, he does
presentation and installation of a painting.
understand that the chromatic relationships
But there is another internal step essential
are integral as a thematic concern. For ex-
in the completion of the work that inter-
ample, each canvas, despite its predomi-
ests Haessle, namely, the matter in which
nant emphasis on a single primary, includes
the pigmented color on the surface of the
gestural marks that represent primaries
painting holds or retains light. This, in turn,
from the other two. For example, the Red
impacts the resonance from which light
painting will contain an all-over smattering
projects from the surface and the manner
of blue and yellow accents. Similarly, the
that it evolves through manipulation from
Blue painting will reveal traces of red and
one color to another. Haessle knows the
yellow; and finally the Yellow canvas car-
process well. To control light in a painting
ries the weight of the red and blue without
by making exterior adjustments intended
disrupting its essential all-over chromatic
to correct an initial weakness or default is
dominance. The light within these paintings
rarely convincing.
is inexorable, suggesting that the artist has
required to know how color works and how
discovered a method whereby the relation-
it will function as a medium in order to give
ship between value and hue function inex-
the surface its luminosity.
tricably as a single unit within each painting.
Often the exterior light
Therefore, the artist is
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Haessle rides on the crest of an indignant
and distant in their approach. The painters
perception, a voracious insight, and a for-
paid close attention to Greenberg’s “flat-
mal and technical acuity, quietly manifest-
ness”, a formalist concept somewhat over-
ed through his ultra-refined persistence to
played in the art press at the time, which
paint light. As previously mentioned, his
gave a certain credibility to the notion of
origins come from the northeast area of Al-
color as form. Haessle was less concerned
sace, where he was raised and where he dis-
in this formalist theory than in the paintings
covered during an adolescent illness a book
themselves. Still, he missed the vitality of
of paintings by Van Gogh that changed his
the gesture that he first encountered in the
life. This was followed by a stint with the
work of Van Gogh.
French military during the Algerian War, before moving to Paris in 1964, and later
It was soon apparent that his defiant, yet
to Manhattan in 1967, where he has lived
exhilarating use of the gesture would define
and worked as a painter ever since. While
his personal stylistic evolution as a paint-
contemporary art in Paris occupied him for
er. At the same time, one may discover in
three years, he was less intrigued by the
such paintings as Crisscross (2002) and
vestiges of Art Informal than by the gritty
In the Making (2005) an intricacy with the
l’art brut of Jean Dubuffet and by the paint-
brushwork, a quality which is also unique
ings of Giacometti. Eventually, Haessle
in Haessle’s style.
caught wind of the CoBrA group (an ac-
slightly darker, if not more somber in Criss-
ronym for expressionism emanating from
cross, yet both paintings reveal tiny strands
Copenhagen, Brussels, and Amsterdam).
of white.
Painters, such as Asger Jorn and Karel Ap-
suggest optically moving threads, simulta-
pel, were particularly popular in Paris in the
neously being woven and unwoven, thereby
1960s, as they were eventually aligned with
pointing in the direction of temporality as
the politics of the Situationists, whose ideas
much as space. The dense color strands are
were partially responsible for the uprisings
suspended, perhaps in a state of unravel-
in France in 1968 against the conservative
ing, as if the artist were in the process of
Gaullist regime.
separating and reordering his thoughts in
The tonalities appear
In either case, these paintings
perpetual motion, thus refining the pictorial Shortly before these events in Paris, Haessle
dimensions of the surface. Another larger,
moved to New York in order to focus on his
more recent painting, titled Restless (2008),
painting.
has a similar structure.
Here he witnessed something
The brushwork is
quite different. Instead of l’art brut and Co-
evenly consistent in its scale. Color is lim-
BrA, he found Color Field painters -- artists,
ited to the primaries plus black and white.
such as Helen Frankenthaler, Ken Noland,
In Restless, it becomes clear the degree to
Morris Louis, Jules Olitski, Larry Poons, Paul
which Haessle has mastered the application
Jenkins, Ellsworth Kelly, and sculptors, such
and mix of color through calligraphy. The
as Anthony Caro and Michael Steiner. Many
effect is mesmerizing -- not in the literary or
(but not all) of these artists were known as
proverbial sense, but in relation to the shear
the American formalists of the 1960s, as
optics of looking at a surface. The evenness
proclaimed by the critic Clement Green-
of space and the resilience of depth through
berg. In general,
the layering of gestural loops and striations
their works were cool
gives Restless a visual and mental impact
the subtle nuances of optimism through his
that goes beyond the ordinary. Restless is
use of scale and modulation within each lay-
not merely a painting one sees, but stud-
ering of color. While at times the work may
ies. It is as if one were deciphering a code
appear hesitant or irresolute, the paintings
within and beneath the surface, in order to
of Jean-Marie Haessle represent a powerful
find access to its chromatic structure. It has
antidote to the deeply conflicted socio-psy-
been said that French Impressionism, large-
chological transition in which we find our-
ly incited by the color optics of the French
selves today.
chemist Henri-Eugene Chevreuil, was less about “impressions” in the vernacular sense than it was about analyzing the objective passage of light. This might also be said of Haessle’s Restless, from the point of view of abstract painting, rather than a field of poppies. In referring to work in this exhibition as “lyrical chromatic paintings” I mean the following: Jean-Marie Haessle came to New York after Abstract Expressionism had already made its mark. Although Pop art was still in flavor, it did not suit his fancy. Haessle wanted something deeper. It was no accident that two of his favorite artists whose work he saw frequently in Paris were Dubuffet and Giacometti. This suggests a desire to go beneath the surface of reality as a source of transcendence, a concept more French than American.
Even so, Haessle
understood that it was possible to work in New York with color in a way that did not express the violence and repression often associated with The New York School. In essence, Haessle had another idea, a more lyrical one. The challenge was how to lessen the rancor in gestural painting without submitting to a style. He was drawn to color at the outset. (How could one love the paintings of Van Gogh without a strong desire to feel color?) And so, it would appear, that Haessle rejected the despair of the historical gesture in favor of its potential lyricism and redemption. In doing so, he retained
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RED II, 2010 66” x 66” Oil on canvas
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YELLOW, 2010 66” x 66” Oil on canvas
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BLUE, 2010 66” x 66” Oil on canvas
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RESTLESS, 2008 67” x 97” Oil on canvas
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CRISSCROSS, 2003 68” x 54” Oil on canvas
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IN THE MAKING, 2010 68” x 54” Oil on canvas
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UNTITLED 1, 2010 84” x 84” Oil on canvas
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UNTITLED 4, 2010 66” x 44” Oil on canvas
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RED, 2010 46” x 36” Oil on canvas
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YELLOW, 2010 46” x 36” Oil on canvas
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BLUE, 2010 46” x 36” Oil on canvas
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GRAY, 2010 46” x 36” Oil on canvas
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UNTITLED 22, 2008 20” x 16” Oil on canvas
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UNTITLED 23, 2008 20” x 16” Oil on canvas
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AZURE, 2007 58” x 46” Oil on canvas
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UNTITLED 6, 2004 60” x 45” Oil on canvas
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UNTITLED 9, 2004 72” x 72” Oil on canvas
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UNTITLED 10, 2004 72” x 72” Oil on canvas
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J ean-Marie Haessle Lives and works in New York, NY Selected Solo Exhibitions: 2010
David Richard Contemporary, Santa Fe, NM USA Gallery AKA Space, Seoul Korea
2009
Kips Gallery New York, NY USA La Minoterie Penze, France
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2008
Galerie Claire Gastaud, Clermont-Ferrand, France Kips Gallery, New York, NY USA
2007
Kips Gallery, New York, NY USA
2000
Gallery Yvonamor Palix, Mexico DF Mexico
1997
Galerie Gastaud & Caillard, Paris France Galerie Prebet, Roanne France Galerie de la Tour, Altkirch France Ecole des Beaux Arts de Metz, Metz France Kunsthous Santa Fe, San Miguel de Allende Mexico Museo de Art, Queretaro Mexico Museo Regional de Tlaxcala, Tlaxcala Mexico
1996
Kim Foster Gallery, New York NY USA
1995
Kim Foster Gallery, New York NY USA
Galerie Gastaud, Clermont-Ferrand France Galerie Gastaud & Caillard, Paris France Center Europeen d’action Artistiques Contemporaines, Strasbourg France Galerie Athisma, Lyon France 1994
Chateau du Grand Jardin, Joinville France
1993
Galerie Catherine Fletcher, Paris France
1991
Galerie Gastaud, Clermont-Ferrand France
1989
FCI Institut, New York NY USA
Galerie Athisma, Lyon France Galerie Jade, Colmar France Galerie Laurentienne, Bordeaux France 1988
Galerie Lucien Durand, Paris France
1987
Galerie Lucien Durand, Paris France Guggenheim Gallery, Miami Florida USA
1986
LittleJohn-Smith Gallery, New York NY USA
1985
Reynold Kerr Gallery, New York NY USA
1981
Gabrielle Bryers Gallery, New York NY USA
1980
RR Gallery, New York NY USA
1979
National Academy of Sciences, Washington DC USA
1973
Westbroadway Gallery, New York NY USA
1972
Westbeth Gallery, New York NY USA
1968
Panoras Gallery, New York NY US
Taylor Hudson Gallery, Boca Raton Florida USA
The Atlantic Gallery, Washington DC USA
Group Exhibitions: 2010
KIAF Art Fair, Seoul, Korea Hon Kong Art Fair, Kips gallery
2009
Kips gallery, New York NY 10012
2008
Bridge Art Fair Miami, Kips Gallery, Fl. USA
2007
Kips Gallery, New York NY, USA
2004
Mexico Arte Contemperano, Gallery Yvonamor Palix, Mexico DF
2003
Galerie Kahn, Strasbourg, France
2002
Art Chicago, Yvonamor Palix Gallery, Chicago USA St’ Art, Galerie Khan, Strasbourg France Art Paris, Galerie Claire Gastaud, Paris France
2001 2000
Art Chicago, Yvonamor Palix Gallery, Chicago USA Art Chicago, Yvonamor Palix Gallery, Chicago USA En construccion, Universidad de Guanajuato, Guanajuato Mexico Nomad Territories, DFN Gallery, New York NY USA
1999
Gallery Yvonamor Palix, Mexico DF Mexico
1998
Albright-Knox Galleries, Buffalo NY USA Galerie Gastaud, Clermont-Ferrand France
1997
Kim Foster Gallery, New York NY USA Galerie Gastaud, Clermont-Ferrand France Eric Linard Galerie, La Garde Adhemar France Museo de Arte, Queretaro Mexico
1996
Art Chicago, Kim Foster gallery, Chicago USA
1995
Galerie Cocotier, St Etienne France
“Blue” Broadway Gallery, New York NY USA Centre Europeen d’Action Artistiques Contemp., Strasbourg France 1994
Kim Foster Gallery, New York NY USA Galerie Catherine Fletcher, Paris France Foster-Peet Gallery, New York NY USA
1993
Andover-White Gallery, New York NY USA Galerie Athisma, Lyon France Cavaliero/Navarra Fine Arts, New York NY USA
1992
Cavaliero/Navarra Fine Arts, New York NY USA “Contemporary Works on Paper” Gallery Standhal, New York NY USA Foster-Peet Gallery, New York NY USA
1991
Cavaliero Fine Arts, New York NY USA Salon de Montrouge, Paris France Galerie Lucien Durand, Paris France
1990
Galerie Lucien Durand, Paris France
1989
Galerie Lucien Durand, Paris France Galerie Jade, Colmar France Chicago Art Fair, Galerie Jade, Chicago USA
1988
Salon de Montrouge, Paris France
1987
Art Barn Association, Washington DC USA
Galerie Lucien Durand, Paris France LittleJohn-Smith Gallery, New York NY USA Galerie Jade Colmar France 1986
LittleJohn-Smith Gallery, New York USA
1985
Reynold Kerr Gallery, New York NY USA.
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1984
Reynold Kerr Gallery, New York NY USA
1983
Cavaliero Fine Arts, Kunstmess, Basel Switzerland
1982
Cavaliero Fine Arts, Kunstmess, Basel Switzerland
1981
Gabrielle Bryers Gallery, New York NY USA
1980
Gabrielle Bryers Gallery, New York NY USA
Galerie Bertin, Lyon France
1979 2828
Katheryn Markel Gallery, New York NY USA Haber-Theodore Gallery, New York NY USA
1978
The Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art, Ridgefield, Co USA
1977
Robert Friedus Gallery, New York NY USA
1976
Fine Art Gallery, New York NY USA
OIA, New York NY USA 1975
“Young Talent Festival” “75”Union Carbide, New York NY USA
1974
“Young Talent Festival” Pace Editions, New York NY USA
1973
Springfield Art Association, Springfield Co USA
“59th Annual Juried Exhibition” Hudson River Museum, Yonkers NY Works on Paper, Triangle Church, New York NY USA “Young Artists 73” Union carbide, New York NY USA New York Contemporary Graphic Exhibition, Taiwan Museum, Taipei 1972
Palace of Fine Arts, Mexico DF Mexico Albright-Knox Gallery, Buffalo NY USA 9th Annual print Exhibition” Silvermine Guild, New Canaan Co USA
1971
Martha Jackson Gallery, New York NY USA Cornell University, Ithaca NY USA
Catalogues: 1985
Renold Kerr Gallery, New York, NY USA Text by David Shaff
1989
Galerie Jade, Colmar France. The primary paintings of Haessle by
1994
Chateau du Grand Jardin, Joinville France. In memory of the body
1994
Chateau du Grand Jardin, Joinville France. Edition of 200 exemplary
1995
Centre Europeen d’Action Artistiques Contemp., Strasbourg , France
Frederick Ted Castle. Introduction by Jean-Yves Bainier Text by David Shapiro. Interview by Marc Vaudey. In French/English .
Text by Gilbert Lascault. Interview by Jean-Yves Bainier Hard cover. In French and English. 1995
HAESSLE 30 ans de peinture. Monography 145 pages with 70 pages Full color reproductions. Editions AU MEME TITRE Paris France. Text by David Shaff, David Shapiro, Jean-Yves Bainier. Interview by Catherine Ulmer. In French and English.
2008
Haessle, Selected works, M magazine, 15 pages all colors reproductions
ISBN 978-0-9827872-0-5 PRICE $10.00 © 2010 DAVID RICHARD CONTEMPORARY, LLC
130 Lincoln Avenue, Suite D, Santa Fe, NM 87501 | p (505) 983-9555 | f (505) 983-1284 www.DavidRichardContemporary.com | info@DavidRichardContemporary.com