Claude Lazar: Modern Life

CLAUDE LAZAR

COVER : OPPOSITE :

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Au delà 2014 oil on canvas 36 x 28 in.

Mémoire de l'eau 2014 oil on canvas 28 x 21 in.

CLAUDE LAZAR Modern Life

FRANKLIN BOWLES GALLERIES S a n F r a n c i s c o / N e w Yo r k 3

Art is anything that's creative, passionate, and personal.

And great art resonates with the viewer, not only with the creator.

Seth Godin

Le souffle des ombres 2013 oil on canvas 35 x 51 in.

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C L A U D E L A Z A R: Modern Life In this, the 40th anniversary of our gallery, we are delighted to also celebrate 20 years of representing Claude Lazar. Like the artist Edward Hopper, Lazar has remained faithful to realism. During his career, Hopper expressed his delight in knowing that the film director, Alfred Hitchcock, said in various interviews that his later films, Rear Window and Psycho, were to, some extent, inspired by the painter’s work. Unsurprisingly, Lazar has often commented that his interest in the films of Hitchcock and French New Wave filmmakers have occupied him throughout his career, creating an undeniable link between the two artists. Also like Hopper, Lazar has always been on the verge of telling a story, “When will the figure turn the corner onto the empty street? When will the couple enter the empty room?” Like a mystery novel that the reader can’t put down, Lazar’s paintings create an atmosphere of emotional depth and universal experience. This implied narrative structure has entranced the fans of Edward Hopper and Claude Lazar alike.

Lazar grew up in Egypt; the land of bright sun and deep shadows in the desert. At the time his family relocated to Paris, there were serious housing shortages. The interiors that Lazar paints are often reminiscent of those places he wishfully imagined as a child. Large, wonderfully empty and spacious rooms, contemplative windows and urban scenes are all re-imagined as romantic landscapes through his eyes. Throughout these solitary moments, light always predominates. Lazar believes that, “no matter what subject is being represented, light is the essential element of emphasis.” Whether its source is artificial or natural, Lazar’s light charges every cubic inch of space with significance.

Pictorial research on the contemporary industrial landscape has evolved into a small group of new paintings. These have the poignancy of portraits and serve as emblems of the human condition. They are arresting and make one think; what is the history of this place and what makes it tick? The paintings themselves are luminous and express another facet of Lazar’s insightful perspective.

Layering his canvases with atmosphere, Lazar creates internal light in his paintings with masterful techniques. He uses methods that create a balance between opposing forces, resulting in a dance between the dark layers and the chalk that gradually contours the shapes. He uses glazes and varnishes to create subtle gradients of soft and brilliantly subtle light: day, night, early morning and evening twilight; all these hues suffuse his interiors and urban landscapes with depth. Lazar loves surfaces and how light brings them alive. ‘Obvious beauty,’ is never his subject, rather he wants to elevate the ordinary through exploration by looking deeply. Lazar introduces mysterious elements of light and dark and they play across his canvases. What emerges is a vision of unexpected urban beauty, a mirror for recapturing memories.

We’re very proud to present Claude Lazar’s new work to our collectors.

LESLIE LUND, Curator, Franklin Bowles Gallery, New York

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Reflet d'histoire 2014 oil on canvas 35 x 51 in.

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Éveil de la mémoire 2014 oil on canvas 21 x 28 in.

Voyage en eaux troubles 2014 oil on canvas 25 x 36 in.

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LEFT:

Lentement 2013 oil on canvas 18 x 13 in.

BELOW:

N'oublie pas 2013 oil on canvas 13 x 18 in.

OPPOSITE :

Paysage urbain 2013 oil on canvas 51 x 35 in

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Penthouse 1993 oil on canvas 52 x 78 in.

Infini 2013 oil on canvas 18 x 13 in.

Projection 2013 oil on canvas 18 x 13 in.

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Bonne Nouvelle 2013 oil on canvas 18 x 13 in.

Un jour en Ville 2009 oil on canvas 28 x 21 in.

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Juste un Regard 2013 oil on canvas 35 x 51 in.

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Evasion de l'Esprit 2012 oil on canvas 21 x 28 in.

Le temps d'un Regard 2012 oil on canvas 21 x 28 in.

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Partie de campagne 2013 oil on canvas 23 x 19.5 in.

Les maĂŽtres de l'illusion 2014 oil on canvas 36 x 28 in.

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What interests me is to pull significant elements from my own experiences that find an echo in those of others.

Claude Lazar

Entre deux Vies 2011 oil on canvas 35 x 51 in.

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Douce Illusion 2014 oil on canvas 36 x 28 in.

Le Royaume des sirènes 2013 oil on canvas 15 x 18 in.

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La comĂŠdie humaine 2014 oil on canvas 21 x 28 in.

Faiseurs de rĂŞves 2014 oil on canvas 25 x 36 in.

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Le Sixieme Jour 2009 oil on canvas 18 x 15 in.

Une idĂŠe du bonheur 2014 oil on canvas 24 x 19.5 in.

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INDEX

Absence 2013 oil on canvas 18 x 13 in.

Absence

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Au delà

Front cover

Bonne Nouvelle

13

La comédie humaine

19

Douce Illusion

18

Entre deux Vies

17

Evasion de l'Esprit

15

Éveil de la mémoire

7

Faiseurs de rêves

19

Infini

12

Juste un Regard

14

Lentement

8

Les maîtres de l'illusion

16

Mémoire de l'eau

3

N'oublie pas

8

Partie de campagne

16

Paysage urbain

9

Penthouse

10 –-11

Projection

12

Reflet d'histoire

6

Le Royaume des sirènes

18

Le Sixieme Jour

20

Le souffle des ombres

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Le temps d'un Regard

15

Le temps d'un soupir

Back cover

Un jour en Ville

13

Une idée du bonheur

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Voyage en eaux troubles

7

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FRANKLIN BOWLES GALLERIES

Le temps d'un soupir 2013 oil on canvas 25 x 21 in.

431 West Broadway New York NY 10012

212.226.1616 800.926.9537

765 / 799 Beach Street San Francisco CA 94109 349 Geary Street San Francisco CA 94102

415.441.8008 800.926.9535

415.441.8008 800.926.9535

www.fran kl in bow l e sgal l e r y.co m “Clic k ” h e re t o go t o o ur we bsit e