oil and painted glued paper on wood, 85.5 x 52.5 cm

PROVENANCE

Galerie d’Art International, Paris (1984); s Waddington Galleries, London.

Native of Vinkovci, Slavko Kopač (1913 - 1995), after finishing the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb, chose France as his second homeland. From 1948, he permanently settled in Paris. There, he was at the source of all post-war trends in painting, such as informel and art brut. His collaboration with the French artist Jean Dubuffet is well known, as is his friendship with the father of surrealism, André Breton. These contacts lead to the conclusion that Kopač was close to the painterly circles in Paris that were searching for expression within free, associative figuration, robust morphology, and painterly matter. Such a raw simplification of form is visible on this Kopač's creation. Besides the noticeable layer of oil paint, paper was also applied to the wooden base, which further emphasizes the material properties of the picture. In earthy colors, a simple, linearly drawn circle with basic elements of face recognition is noticeable. The expression achieved in emphasized matter of cracked picture surface reminds us of Kopač's closeness to the poetics of the informel. Irregular drawing that stretches over this relief field of the picture, as well as the stingy, narrowed color spectrum, indicate a characteristic mature work of Kopač. FG

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