GALERIE LAURENTIN
France & Belgique
8 rue de Miromesnil, 75008 Paris
Rue Ernest Allard 31, 1000 Bruxelles
www.galerie-laurentin.com
Antoine Laurentin, a collector following in a family tradition, opened his first gallery in 1991 on Rue Sainte-Anne in Paris, and settled at 23 Quai Voltaire in the early 2000s. In 2013, he opened a second location in Brussels on Rue Ernest Allard.
To celebrate its 35th anniversary, the Parisian gallery is moving into a new venue in the heart of the 8th arrondissement, at 8 Rue de Miromesnil, in a historic location formerly occupied by Daniel Cordier’s gallery (1959–1964).
Specializing in modern and contemporary art, Galerie Laurentin presents a program of solo exhibitions accompanied by reference publications. It regularly participates in major international art fairs, including TEFAF Maastricht, the Salon du Dessin, Art Brussels, and FAP, and thereby contributes to the international visibility of the artists and its activities.
Geneviève ASSE
(Vannes 1923 – Paris 2021)
Espace
1961
Oil on canvas signed lower right, countersigned, dated “Asse 61” and titled on reverse
65 x 54 cm
Exhibition
1961, Galleria Lorenzelli, Milano, n°27
Bibliography
Catalogue raisonné of the paintings of Geneviève Asse, edited by Antoine Laurentin, no. T.61025
Courtesy Galerie Laurentin, Paris
In 1961, the year this oil on canvas was painted, Geneviève Asse’s career was in full swing.
Several renowned galleries in France and Switzerland had already dedicated their exhibition spaces to her work.
The Lorenzelli Gallery in Milan hosted the artist’s first exhibition in Italy, which included this painting.
‘Espace’ is a delicate and balanced composition, embodying all the characteristics of her works from the 1960s. Two forms with indistinct outlines, rendered in a palette of cool colours, seem to evolve, almost ‘float’ within the composition against a background of various light greys. Already evident are the variations in blue and grey – a constant exploration by Geneviève Asse that would come to define her signature style: the ‘Asse blues’.
The title of the work tells us what was inspiring Geneviève Asse at the time: whilst the subject is ever-present, she strives to return to its very essence, attempting to evoke it through transparency.
This marks the culmination of research the artist had already begun during the previous decade: still lifes composed of boxes, jars, bottles and other everyday objects already seemed to be dissolving, merging through transparency, to ultimately evoke nothing but their simple essence.
A rare and early work in the artist’s body of work, it is not, however, what one might call an early work. On the contrary, the works of the 1960s garnered critical acclaim and public success, establishing Geneviève Asse as one of the leading figures in post-war French painting.
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