PIERRE SOULAGES
1919-2022, FranceKnown as ‘the painter of black and light,’ Pierre Soulages has forged a career remarkable not only for its rigorous invention, but for its longevity. Since the postwar period, the artist has worked predominantly with the colour black, creating canvases which might recall nocturnal landscapes or charred earth. Rather than adhering to such movements as Abstract Expressionism, tachism, and Informel, Soulages contextualises his paintings in terms of vitalism, classicism, and prehistoric forms. Since 1979, he has pursued his series Outrenoir, whose title is a portmanteau Soulages defines as ‘beyond black.’ With these scraped and slicked tar–like surfaces, he transforms the spatial and temporal dimensions of painting.
Born in 1919 in Rodez, France, Soulages first exhibited his paintings—bold, flat marks of walnut stain (Brou de noix) on paper—in the 1947 Salon des Surindépendents. In 1949, his work featured in his first solo exhibition at Galerie Lydia Conti, Paris, and a group exhibition at Betty Parsons Gallery, New York. Samuel Kootz offered Soulages his first solo show in New York in 1954. The artist’s first retrospective was organised in 1960 by the Museum Folkwang, Essen, and traveled to the Gemeentemuseum, The Hague, and Kunsthaus Zürich. Subsequent retrospectives of his paintings include those at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (1966); Musée National d’Art Moderne at the Centre Pompidou, Paris (1967); Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris (1996); Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg (2001); and Museum Frieder Burda, Baden-Baden (2020). On the occasion of his centennial birthday in 2019, the Louvre, Paris, honoured the artist with a survey of his eight-decade career—marking the third time a living artist had received a retrospective at the museum; previously, this honour had been conferred only to Pablo Picasso and Marc Chagall.
Soulages has received numerous awards, including the Grand Prix National de Peinture (1986) and the Praemium Imperiale for Painting from the Japan Art Association (1992). In 2014, the Musée Soulages opened in Rodez, France. His artwork also resides in public collections worldwide, including the Museum of Modern Art, New York; National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC; Art Institute of Chicago; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; Walker Art Center, Minneapolis; Philadelphia Museum of Art; Tate, London; and Centre Pompidou, Paris.
Courtesy Lévy Gorvy Dayan
Works at Lévy Gorvy Dayan
Recently Exhibited
Exhibiting Elsewhere
Works Elsewhere
Explore and Follow Artists Shaping Contemporary Art
A respected voice in contemporary art discourse.
Focusing on ambitious storytelling and insightful art-world commentary. Ocula Magazine publishes in-depth interviews, critical essays and timely analysis on the artists, exhibitions and ideas driving the global art world.
Learn more about Ocula Magazine
Showcasing the best of the art world.
Ocula partners with galleries from around the world to highlight their artists, artworks and exhibitions. Gallery membership is by application and invitation, with each member vetted by an independent panel.
Learn more about Ocula Membership
Specialises in the sale of major artworks.
Led by a team with deep ties to the world’s leading auction houses, galleries and collectors. Ocula’s advisory team offers bespoke services to high-net-worth clients from around the world who are looking to acquire the best of contemporary and modern art.
Learn more about our team and services