Olivier Dassault: Revelations, 2018

OL I V I E R D A S S A U LT R E V E L A T I O N S

illustrated on the cover: DIVING IN NEW YORK, 2017 chromaluxe brilliant, edition of 5 39 3/8 x 77 1/8 in., 100 x 196

cm

OL I V I E R D A S S A U LT R E V E L A T I O N S

J U N E 5 - J U LY 3 , 2 0 1 8

4 0 W E ST 57 TH STR E E T | N E W YO R K | 1 0 01 9 212 541 4900 | MARLBOROUGHGALLERY.COM

Photo © Ben Dauchez

It is as much a privilege as an honor to be offered the opportunity to exhibit my work in the Marlborough Gallery in New York. Iʼm thankful to Pierre Levai for the beautiful invitation, which I consider a recognition — even a consecration, though that is not for me to say.

Since my teens, photography has been a necessity to me, as it gives me energy but also holds my attention. It allowed me to follow unexpected paths, visit places in a different fashion, make unprecedented encounters and capture moments of pure dazzlement. Or, as Rimbaud would say, “find some unknown”.

Faithful to film photography and to my Minolta XD7, Iʼve always been improvising superimpositions, with multiple exposures. I compose instantaneous graphic harmonies, trying to challenge appearances. I let myself be surprised and I look at the same time for the depth of focus as well as perspectives able to reveal the singularity of nature within things. I enjoy working with small details as much as with great structures, to which I set my own rhythm, playing with compressions, even expansions. Reverberations and refractions are also important parts of this visual language, in which frame and angle are the first pillars, of course.

It is an instinctive, almost daily work, between contemplation and reflection. Everything is inspiring: I gather, I consider, and capture. Itʼs about creating a primary connection with daily life, ordinary materials, like an awakening to things. Sort of a personal phenomenology through the lens, so to speak, but in which mental gymnastics are deeply intertwined with emotions — as it should be in art. Space, rhythm, color, volumes... Like the well-known associations of synesthesia, I work with light and matter to offer another perception, a sensible and emotional perception, of what exists.

The result is presented in this selection of more than 30 images created over the last 30 years. Itʼs an invitation to play, to share imaginary worlds. Along with the emotion brought by a composition, a lighting, and a movement, it is an encounter, a fantasized journey, a dive into the unknown and its surprises to which I invite the spectator.

Among these creations is my vision of New York: its contrasts and its lights, its vitality and extravagant bounty, its art and enthralled population. New York never ceases to reach for the skies — I reach for those same skies by flying planes.

New York has been the foothold for many pioneers — my grandfather was a genius in engineering who made his mark on the global aeronautics industry. New York is the city of Pierre Levai, another pioneer — he was one of the first to set sculpture exhibitions in the very streets of the megalopolis.

New York is the land where, maybe more than in any other place, people had the chance to improvise, invent, and dared to appropriate space, freely. So where better than New York for this exhibition?... For photography is about improvisation and appropriation. Freedom to compose is essential, as essential as the freedom to interpret these creations, to appropriate them. Youʼre very welcome to do so.

Olivier Dassault

I first knew Olivier Dassault as a parliamentarian – he has been a deputy for thirty years. When I was Minister of Culture, I particularly appreciated his interest in cultural affairs, as well as the fact that he was always readily available. I already knew his work as a photographer well, which was effective, solid, reasoned and extremely sensitive.

His humility never ceased to strike me. Indeed, who would imagine that a parliamentarian, a business man bearing the name of a great family of industrialists, a jet plane test pilot, a world speed record holder, and a musician, in sum, that a personality gifted with so many advantages, could have his photographic oeuvre celebrated without using the authority that gave him his political and social standing influence its critical reception? Olivier Dassault honestly wishes to be recognised, in everyone’s free evaluation, as a true photographer. In my view he is one.

One of his great qualities is that although he has been creating photographic images since the 1970s, each new series is distinct from the works that came before it. Like all good creators, he thinks that one should always be questioning – “doubt is the origin of wisdom” to quote Descartes. Dassault places himself into the flow of abstract photography, but adds a subtle play on the materials that fascinate him. A photographer’s work is not limited to the instant of pressing the button, it continues crucially to the moment of development and printing. When an artist pays special attention to printing it’s a way of highlighting their overall commitment to the art of photography.

His work freed itself and was marked by the desire to further conceptualise his images, going from the capture of one reality to the production of forms and colours that are no longer attached to recognisable objects. I’m reminded of Paul Valéry’s remark: “To observe is for the most part to imagine what we expect to see”.

Photography then really becomes writing with light, with light itself being the indicator of signs and situations invisible to the naked eye. It is this ambition which animates Olivier Dassault’s current work. Whatever the subject, whether it’s attached to reality or that this reality fades away faced with the simple play of light and color, we plunge into a world of dream landscape and the infinite.

Art is a space of freedom. Indeed, art never suffers the weight of yesterday, or the fear of tomorrow. As Olivier Dassault knows well: art is a perpetual restarting, a perpetual renewal and permanent availability.

Jean-Jacques Aillagon Minister of Culture, France, 2002-2004

PARK AVENUE, 1987 chromaluxe brilliant, edition of 8 39 3/8 x 66 7/8 in., 100 x 175 cm

HOUSTON TEXAS, 1986 chromaluxe brilliant, edition of 5 39 3/8 x 59 in., 100 x 150 cm

MÉTROPOLIS, 1987 chromaluxe brilliant, edition of 8 39 3/8 x 56 1/4 in., 100 x 143 cm

AQUABUILDING, 2002 chromaluxe brilliant, edition of 5 67 3/4 x 35 3/8 in., 172 x 90 cm

SÉQUENCE DE RÊVE, 1986 chromaluxe brilliant, edition of 8 39 3/8 x 57 1/8 in., 100 x 145 cm

SUBVERSION, 2017 chromaluxe brilliant, edition of 5 39 3/8 x 57 1/8 in., 100 x 145 cm

DOWNTOWN BLUE, 1976 chromaluxe brilliant, edition of 8 39 3/8 x 59 in., 100 x 150 cm

STREETING, 2010 chromaluxe brilliant, edition of 8 63 x 39 3/8 in., 160 x 100 cm

DOUBLE VUE, 2017 chromaluxe brilliant, edition of 5 39 3/8 x 77 1/8 in., 100 x 196 cm

BLACK BUILDING, 2000 metal paper under altuglas, edition of 5 30 1/4 x 78 3/4 in., 77 x 200 cm

VIE PRIVÉE, 2012 chromaluxe brilliant, edition of 8 31 1/2 x 50 3/8 in., 80 x 128 cm

ORGANISME, 2017 chromluxe brilliant, edition of 5 39 3/8 x 58 1/4 in., 100 x 148 cm

CARRÉ D’OR, 2010 metal paper under altuglas, edition of 8 39 3/8 x 61 in., 155 x 100 cm

PARABOLE, 2016 fujiflex print under altuglas, edition of 3 l & r panels: 59 x 31 7/8 in., 150 x 81 cm center panels: 59 x 37 3/4 in., 150 x 96 cm

DYNASTIE, 2015 chromaluxe brilliant, unique l & r panels: 55 1/8 x 15 3/4 in., 140 x 40 cm center panel: 55 1/8 x 31 1/2 in., 140 x 80 cm

ENIGME, 2015 chromaluxe brilliant, edition of 8 66 7/8 x 43 1/4 in., 170 x 110 cm

RÉSEAU, 2016 light box, edition of 3 73 1/4 x 39 3/8 in., 186 x 100

cm

ZELLIGE, 2016 chromaluxe semi-matte, edition of 5 59 x 39 3/8 in., 150 x 100 cm

GRAPHIES, 2017 chromaluxe brilliant, edition of 5 27 1/2 x 55 1/8 in., 70 x 140 cm

GRAPHISME, 2008 fujiflex print under altuglas, edition of 8 57 1/8 x 37 3/8 in., 145 x 95 cm

AMAZONIE, 2017 chromaluxe brilliant, edition of 5 55 1/8 x 33 1/8 in., 140 x 84 cm

ORIS, 2009 chromaluxe brilliant, edition of 8 39 3/8 x 26 3/8 in., 100 x 67 cm

INTERVALLE, 2016 chromaluxe brilliant, edition of 5 61 3/4 x 35 3/8 in., 157 x 90 cm

two

MODULE, 2012 fujiflex print under altuglas, edition of 3 panels, each: 63 x 41 3/8 in., 160 x 105

cm

INCLINAISON 2, 2017 chromaluxe semi-matte, edition of 5 39 3/8 x 25 3/8 in., 100 x 60 cm

INCLINAISON 1, 2017 chromaluxe semi-matte, edition of 5 39 3/8 x 27 1/2 in., 100 x 70 cm

HOMMAGE À NICOLAS DE STAËL, 1977 chromaluxe semi-matte, edition of 8 39 3/8 x 27 1/2 in., 100 x 70 cm

CORPUS, 2016 chromaluxe brilliant, edition of 5 43 1/4 x 86 5/8 in., 110 x 220 cm

CONCERTATION, 1988 chromaluxe brilliant, edition of 5 43 1/4 x 73 1/4 in., 110 x 186 cm

INTERLUDE, 2013 chromaluxe brilliant, edition of 8 49 1/4 x 29 1/2 in., 125 x 75 cm

WINDOWS SHOW, 2017 chromaluxe semi-matte, edition of 5 49 1/4 x 35 3/8 in., 125 x 90 cm

COMMUNION ABSTRAITE, 2013 chromaluxe brilliant, edition of 8 49 1/4 x 31 1/2 in., 125 x 80 cm

MUTISME, 2017 chromaluxe semi-matte, edition of 5 43 1/4 x 78 3/4 in., 110 x 200 cm

ARONDA, 1995 metal paper under altuglas, edition of 3 three panels, each: 63 x 29 1/8 in., 160 x 74

cm

82 5/8

x

EXORDE, 2013 (two views) chromaluxe brilliant, unique 31 1/2 x 11 3/4 in., 210 x 80

x

30

cm

VESTIBULE, 2016 (two views) chromaluxe brilliant, unique 84 5/8 x 31 1/2 x 11 3/4 in., 215 x 80

x

30

cm

OLIVIER DASSAULT EXHIBITIONS

BIBLIOGRAPHY

2018 Grand Angle Du Figuratif à l’Abstraction, Atelier Grognard,

France 2017 Reflexions Chromatiques, Barnes Saint Tropez, France

Perceptions, Galerie A, Paris, France

Transhumance, Galerie Matisse, Marrakesh, Morocco 2016 BRAFA, Galerie Pierre Mahaux, Brussels, Belgium

26 Works, Louis Stern Fine Arts, Los Angeles, United States

Galerie Capazza, Nançay, France

Focus, Fondation Montresso, Marrakesh, Morocco 2015 BRAFA, Galerie Pierre Mahaux, Brussels, Belgium

Drouot vu par OD, Galerie Drouot, Paris, France

Langage de murs, Galerie Maeght, Paris, France 2014 Anamorphose, Scarlett, Megève, France

Captures, Guy Pieters Gallery, Knokke Le Zoute, Belgium

Arrêt sur Image, Barnes St Honoré, Paris, France 2013 Empreintes, Banque Transatalantique, Brussels, Belgium

Les Instantanés d’OD, Young Gallery, Brussels, Belgium 2012 Voyages Imaginaires, Intérieurs, Artcurial, Paris, France

Rencontre, Galerie Clarus, Ligny-le-Ribault, France 2011 Photographismes, Guy Pieters Gallery, Knokke-le-Zoute,

Belgium

Métaphores, Barnes Agency, Neuilly-sur-Seine, France 2010 Acrobaties, Barnes Bonaparte Agency, Paris, France

Mémoires d’Art, Galerie Didier Aaron, Paris, France

Totem & Tabou, Galerie Pierre Mahaux, Megève, France

Dialogue autour de l’Abstraction, Galerie Artistes en

Lumière, Paris, France 2009 Abstraction, Artcurial, Paris, France

Surimpressionnisme, Espace Hugues Chevalier, Paris, France 2008 Urbania, Galerie Corrado Bortone, Paris, France 2006 Invitation aux Voyages, Galerie Chloé Van Dongen, Troyes,

France 2005 Ciels, Artcurial, Paris, France 2003 Les Visions Recomposées, Espace Hugues Chevalier, Paris,

France

Lumières de ciel, Lumières de ville, Galerie Sonia

Zannettacci, Geneva, Switzerland 2002 La Cinquième Dimension, Artcurial, Paris, France 1993 Découvertes, Galerie G. Apicella, Cologne, Germany; Paris,

France 1990 Photocolorism, Espace Kronenbourg, Paris, France 1978 Egypte, Galerie Pyramide, Paris, France

Hors Série Beaux arts,2017 Focus, 2016 26 Works, Louis Stern Fine Arts, 2016 Langage de murs, Maeght, 2015 Drouot vu par Olivier Dassault,2015 Captures, Guy Pieters, 2014 Insight, Opera Gallery, 2012 Photographismes, Guy Pieters, 2011 Abstraction, Chez Higgins, 2009 Ciels, Cercle d’Art, 2005 La Cinquième Dimension, Somogy, 2002 Entre Terre et Ciel, LPM Michel Lafon, 1999 Photocolorism, Robert Laffont, 1990 Danses de Feu, Anne Sigier, 1987 Lignes d’Imaginaire, Portes du Sud, 1984 Ces Regards d’Enfants, Anne Sigier, 1983 Egypte, Congreve New York, 1978 Oniropolis, Robert Laffont, 1977 Fugues, Robert Laffont, 1975

PUBLIC COLLECTIONS 1999

Musée de Houston – Etats Unis

2014

Musée de Palm Springs – Etats Unis

2015

Bibliothèque Nationale de France – Paris

2016

Musée de Jérusalem – Israël

N E W YO R K / MARLBOROUGH GALLERY, INC. 40 West 57th Street New York, NY 10019 Telephone 212.541.4900 Fax 212.541.4948 www.marlboroughgallery.com mny@marlboroughgallery.com

MADRID / GALERÍA MARLBOROUGH, S.A. Orfila, 5 28010 Madrid Telephone 34.91.319.1414 Fax 34.91.308.4345 www.galeriamarlborough.com info@galeriamarlborough.com

MARLBOROUGH GRAPHICS 40 West 57th Street New York, NY 10019 Telephone 212.541.4900 Fax 212.541.4948 graphics@marlboroughgallery.com

B A R C E LO N A / MARLBOROUGH BARCELONA Enric Granados, 68 08008 Barcelona Telephone 34.93.467.44.54 Fax 34.93.467.44.51

MARLBOROUGH CONTEMPORARY 545 West 25th Street New York, NY 10001 Telephone 212.463.8634 Fax 212.463.9658 www.marlboroughcontemporary.com info@marlboroughcontemporary.com

SA N T I AG O D E C H I L E / GALERÍA A.M.S. MARLBOROUGH Avenida Nueva Costanera 3723 Vitacura, Santiago, Chile Telephone 56.2.799.3180 Fax 56.2.799.3181

LO N D O N / MARLBOROUGH FINE ART LTD. 6 Albemarle Street London W1S 4BY Telephone 44.20.7629.5161 Fax 44.20.7629.6338 www.marlboroughfineart.com mfa@marlboroughfineart.com MARLBOROUGH GRAPHICS 6 Albemarle Street London W1S 4BY Telephone 44.20.7629.5161 Fax 44.20.7495.0641 graphics@marlboroughfineart.com MARLBOROUGH CONTEMPORARY 6 Albemarle Street London, W1S4BY Telephone 44.20.7629.5161 info@marlboroughcontemporary.com www.marlboroughcontemporary.com

Important Works available by: Twentieth-Century European Masters; Post-War American Artists

DESIGN / Dan McCann P R I N T E D I N N E W YO R K B Y P R O J E C T

© 2018 Marlborough Gallery, Inc. ISBN 978-0-89797-508-7

OL I V I E R D A S S A U LT R E V E L A T I O N S

J U N E 5 - J U LY 3 , 2 0 1 8

40 W EST 57TH STRE ET | N EW YOR K | 10 019 212 541 4900 | MARLBOROUGHGALLERY.COM