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Lot 17 PRIVATE SWISS COLLECTION
'The torsion allowed me to fractionate the light in an ordered and controlled manner without having to revert to an criture of paint like Van Gogh's brushwork.'
(Walter Leblanc as quoted in: N. Leblanc & D. Everarts de Velp-Seynaeve, Walter Leblanc. Catalogue raisonné, Ghent 1997, p 34)
In the second half of the 1950s, Walter Leblanc moved towards a more monochromatic style. He began to explore the limitations of two-dimensionality in painting, motivated by his previous engagement with abstraction.
By slashing the centre of his canvases open, Lucio Fontana allowed three-dimensional space to intrude into an otherwise two-dimensional surface. Fontana thereby liberated painting, creating the opportunity for his contemporaries to investigate a new spectrum of spatial possibilities.
By adding objects to the flat surface, Leblanc's works created a dialogue with the matter paintings of the 1950s. His intentions, however, were very different: instead of aiming to create an organic composition, Leblanc's works become more schematic and organized.
In 1957 he introduced Twisted strings to the canvas. Although still relatively thin, the wire effected the diffusion of light onto the flat and monochrome surface. The thread created shadows that broke the rhythm, tonality and therefore the entire perception of the work. By the 1960s Leblanc introduced the Torsions, developing the tension between depth and flat surface. By incising the polyvinyl canvasses in a regular grid and turning the vertical strips, the illusion of three-dimensionality is created through the medium itself.
The present collection (lots 17-20) is an excellent example of Leblanc's liberation of the flat surface.
'The torsion allowed me to fractionate the light in an ordered and controlled manner without having to revert to an criture of paint like Van Gogh's brushwork.'
(Walter Leblanc as quoted in: N. Leblanc & D. Everarts de Velp-Seynaeve, Walter Leblanc. Catalogue raisonné, Ghent 1997, p 34)
In the second half of the 1950s, Walter Leblanc moved towards a more monochromatic style. He began to explore the limitations of two-dimensionality in painting, motivated by his previous engagement with abstraction.
By slashing the centre of his canvases open, Lucio Fontana allowed three-dimensional space to intrude into an otherwise two-dimensional surface. Fontana thereby liberated painting, creating the opportunity for his contemporaries to investigate a new spectrum of spatial possibilities.
By adding objects to the flat surface, Leblanc's works created a dialogue with the matter paintings of the 1950s. His intentions, however, were very different: instead of aiming to create an organic composition, Leblanc's works become more schematic and organized.
In 1957 he introduced Twisted strings to the canvas. Although still relatively thin, the wire effected the diffusion of light onto the flat and monochrome surface. The thread created shadows that broke the rhythm, tonality and therefore the entire perception of the work. By the 1960s Leblanc introduced the Torsions, developing the tension between depth and flat surface. By incising the polyvinyl canvasses in a regular grid and turning the vertical strips, the illusion of three-dimensionality is created through the medium itself.
The present collection (lots 17-20) is an excellent example of Leblanc's liberation of the flat surface.
Walter Leblanc (1932-1986)
Twisted strings
Closed5 November 2014
Price Realised
EUR 23,750
More Information
Specialist note
The present lot will be included in the forthcoming addendum of the catalogue raisonné: Walter Leblanc. Addenda au catalogue raisonné: II.