Pierre Soulages: A Century
through October 26, 2019
at Lévy Gorvy

Photographing diverse and challenging works of art requires a thorough understanding of lighting, the capabilities of the photographic process and color management. This is particularly true when the style of an artist and the materials they choose to work with push the limits of what can be successfully achieved in the final image to be used for reproduction.

For Lévy Gorvy’s exhibition catalogue, Pierre Soulages: A Century, Tim Nighswander of IMAGING4ART was brought in to photograph Soulages’s paintings including notable works from his “Outrenoir” or “beyond black” series executed from 1979 through the 1990s. Lévy Gorvy describes these as works wherein “dense layers of pigment record subtle shifts in ambient light.”

The unique challenge in photographing these particular paintings was to maintain the intent of the artist by accurately depicting how a viewer would experience the work. Finding the proper balance of light, shadow and reflection was essential.

Pierre Soulages, Peinture 222 x 137 cm, Printemps 1980, 1980, Oil on canvas, 87 7/16 x 53 15/16 inches (222 x 137 cm). © 2019 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris. Photography by Tim Nighswander / IMAGING4ART

 

Pierre Soulages, Peinture 92 x 73 cm, 27 février 1989, 1980, Oil on canvas, 36 1/4 x 28 3/4 inches (92 x 173 cm). © 2019 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris. Photography by Tim Nighswander / IMAGING4ART

Pierre Soulages will be the latest living artist to have a solo exhibition at the Louvre, Homage to Soulages, which opens on December 11, 2019. Other artists who have had solo exhibitions at the Louvre during their lifetimes include Anselm Kiefer, Cy Twombly and François Morellet.

Our thanks to Lévy Gorvy.

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