On a recent visit to the Pompidou Centre, the main draw was the vast retrospective of Pierre Soulages, and ascending to the top of the building via the unfailingly exciting escalator system I entered the exhibition. Knowing nothing of Soulages’ work but his name I did not know what to expect. Initially one is confronted with, in essence, what Soulages is all about; The Black. One finds vast canvas, after vast canvas of abstract, black lines. The focus on this one colour is so evident throughout his work displayed at the Pompidou that in fact throughout the whole exhibition the only other colour included save white is an electric blue, which glares out strongly from the otherwise monochrome landscape.
On first entering this spectacle of ‘non-colour’ I was confused and frustrated, and felt somewhat cheated to have found nothing but room after room of black scribbles, rooms scattered with art lovers musing thoughtfully at what I saw to be nothing but an incoherent splatter of overwhelming black. As the retrospective continued however my feelings began to shift. I was drawn into a room painted black and read the explanation of what lay before me, with Soulages explaining ‘I like the authority of black. It’s an uncompromising colour. A violent colour, but one that encourages internalisation. Both a colour and a non-colour.’ The intelligence behind these words clashed with the previously simple images I saw before me, and as I moved on through the retrospective, I saw the work of Soulages change and evolve. The paintings developed to be something more than 2-D paint, and the black on black created an intense and visually exciting experience.
This black on black concept was named ‘Outrenoirs’ translating from French to be exaggerated black. This is certainly true, what you see with Soulages becomes more than simple blackness. The reflections of light off shiny or matt black paint create grey, from blackness -it is something of an optical illusion of line and texture, with the most notorious colour to manipulate. The abstract forms of Soulages are enticing eventually, once you accept the complexity of the sincerity and simplicity of what you are looking at. One is at first disinterested, and perhaps even humoured by the paintings, but the more you look, the more you see. The paintings are absorbing in their darkness and density. The quote on leaving the retrospective is one that has stuck with me. It summarises the allure of Soulages ‘Why black? The only answer which covers the unknown reasons that lurk in the obscurest regions of ourselves, and of the powers of painting, is: BECAUSE.’ It is something that is not easily explained, and should be seen for oneself, it is a spectacle of shadow.
The Retrospective runs at the Pompidou Centre Paris until 8th March
