VX - Mercredi 15 Juin, 19h (lots 115 à 155)
HenriMichaux (1899-1984), "Dessin de réagrégation", 1976, ink on paper,monogrammed, titled and dated on reverse, 27.5x20.2 cm
This workwill be included in the catalogue raisonné being prepared by Micheline Phankim,Rainer Michael Mason and Franck Leibovici, under number hm6971
Provenance: Galerie Engelberts, Geneva; Galerie JacquesBenador, Geneva, 10 February 1996; Collection Claude and Gerda Bouvier (GE)
Exhibition: Henri Michaux: aquarelles, frottages, peinturesà l'encre de Chine, aquarelles et gouaches, dessins de désagrégation,1946-1966, Galerie Engelberts, Geneva, 2 June to 31 August 1966, ill. (unpaginated); Henri Michaux1944-1969, Galerie Engelberts, Geneva, 21 May to 31 July 1976; Henri Michaux,Rétrospective itinérante, MNAM/Centre Pompidou, Paris, 16 March to 14 June1978, Guggenheim, New York, 6 September to 15 October 1978, Musée d'Art Modernede Montréal, 12 November to 10 December 1978, p.150, Henri Michaux, (travellingretrospective), Musée Cantini, Marseille, 2 October to 21 November 1993, IVAM,Valencia, 1 December 1993 to 23 January 1994, Musée Rath, Geneva, 3 March to 22May 1994, p. 166, ill.; Untitled Passages by Henri Michaux, The Drawing Center,New York, 30 October to 20 December 2000, English translation of EmergencesRésurgences, published by The Drawing Papers, p. 74, ill.
Bibliography:Henri Michaux, Emergences-Résurgences, Skira, 1972, p. 110; Peter Weibel, ed.,Michaux Mescaline, 1998, (on the occasion of the exhibition The Meskalinpaintings by Centre Cultural Tecla Sala, Barcelona/Neue Galerie. Graz amLandesmuseum Joanneum, Graz), p. 23
HenriMichaux, born in 1899 in Namur, is a Belgian writer and artist who became aFrench citizen in 1955. Although a fan of literature, he began his professionallife by studying medicine, which he soon abandoned to become a sailor.
In 1922,reading Lautréamont's Chants de Maldoror inspired him to write and he pennedhis first text, Cas de folie circulaire.
In 1925, asimilar scenario occurred: during his visit to the first Surrealist exhibition,he discovered a passion for the graphic arts. He was particularly impressed bythe works of Paul Klee. From then on he mixed words and drawings in hiswritings and even tended in the 1950s to prefer graphic expression to literaryexpression.
The primaryimpetus for Michaux's artistic development lay in the exploration of otherplaces, as evidenced by the accounts of his travels in Ecuador (Ecuador, 1929),and Asia (Un barbare en Asie, 1933), as well as the fictional exploration ofimaginary places (Ailleurs, 1948). His working process was also based on theobservation and analysis of the mechanisms of perception and the way in whichit is translated into sensations.
From 1955to 1961, Michaux pushed this exploration to its peak when he usedhallucinogenic substances such as mescaline to explore his sub conscience. Thisdiscovery marked a profound turning point in his drawing work. He thentranscribed his mescaline visions, which consisted of tiny lines swarming overthe paper. In their small format, these works seem to be a doorway to both theinfinitely large and the infinitely small, hypnotising us with their saturationof motifs that resemble the strokes of a panicked seismograph.
The drawingwe are offering for sale is from a series Michaux produced during the writingof his book Les grandes épreuves de l'Esprit, in 1965-1966, which put an end tohis experiments with hallucinogenic substances. It is therefore apost-mescaline drawing that is a reminiscence of these hallucinatoryexperiences and shows the extent to which this exploration of his alteredpsyche left its mark on him.
Description
HenriMichaux (1899-1984), "Dessin de réagrégation", 1976, ink on paper,monogrammed, titled and dated on reverse, 27.5x20.2 cm
This workwill be included in the catalogue raisonné being prepared by Micheline Phankim,Rainer Michael Mason and Franck Leibovici, under number hm6971
Provenance: Galerie Engelberts, Geneva; Galerie JacquesBenador, Geneva, 10 February 1996; Collection Claude and Gerda Bouvier (GE)
Exhibition: Henri Michaux: aquarelles, frottages, peinturesà l'encre de Chine, aquarelles et gouaches, dessins de désagrégation,1946-1966, Galerie Engelberts, Geneva, 2 June to 31 August 1966, ill. (unpaginated); Henri Michaux1944-1969, Galerie Engelberts, Geneva, 21 May to 31 July 1976; Henri Michaux,Rétrospective itinérante, MNAM/Centre Pompidou, Paris, 16 March to 14 June1978, Guggenheim, New York, 6 September to 15 October 1978, Musée d'Art Modernede Montréal, 12 November to 10 December 1978, p.150, Henri Michaux, (travellingretrospective), Musée Cantini, Marseille, 2 October to 21 November 1993, IVAM,Valencia, 1 December 1993 to 23 January 1994, Musée Rath, Geneva, 3 March to 22May 1994, p. 166, ill.; Untitled Passages by Henri Michaux, The Drawing Center,New York, 30 October to 20 December 2000, English translation of EmergencesRésurgences, published by The Drawing Papers, p. 74, ill.
Bibliography:Henri Michaux, Emergences-Résurgences, Skira, 1972, p. 110; Peter Weibel, ed.,Michaux Mescaline, 1998, (on the occasion of the exhibition The Meskalinpaintings by Centre Cultural Tecla Sala, Barcelona/Neue Galerie. Graz amLandesmuseum Joanneum, Graz), p. 23
HenriMichaux, born in 1899 in Namur, is a Belgian writer and artist who became aFrench citizen in 1955. Although a fan of literature, he began his professionallife by studying medicine, which he soon abandoned to become a sailor.
In 1922,reading Lautréamont's Chants de Maldoror inspired him to write and he pennedhis first text, Cas de folie circulaire.
In 1925, asimilar scenario occurred: during his visit to the first Surrealist exhibition,he discovered a passion for the graphic arts. He was particularly impressed bythe works of Paul Klee. From then on he mixed words and drawings in hiswritings and even tended in the 1950s to prefer graphic expression to literaryexpression.
The primaryimpetus for Michaux's artistic development lay in the exploration of otherplaces, as evidenced by the accounts of his travels in Ecuador (Ecuador, 1929),and Asia (Un barbare en Asie, 1933), as well as the fictional exploration ofimaginary places (Ailleurs, 1948). His working process was also based on theobservation and analysis of the mechanisms of perception and the way in whichit is translated into sensations.
From 1955to 1961, Michaux pushed this exploration to its peak when he usedhallucinogenic substances such as mescaline to explore his sub conscience. Thisdiscovery marked a profound turning point in his drawing work. He thentranscribed his mescaline visions, which consisted of tiny lines swarming overthe paper. In their small format, these works seem to be a doorway to both theinfinitely large and the infinitely small, hypnotising us with their saturationof motifs that resemble the strokes of a panicked seismograph.
The drawingwe are offering for sale is from a series Michaux produced during the writingof his book Les grandes épreuves de l'Esprit, in 1965-1966, which put an end tohis experiments with hallucinogenic substances. It is therefore apost-mescaline drawing that is a reminiscence of these hallucinatoryexperiences and shows the extent to which this exploration of his alteredpsyche left its mark on him.
Condition report
très bon état de conservation général
VERSO
La feuille est libre dans son encadrement
Elle est de coloration crème/brun
Présence de 2 scotches au verso bordure surpérieure 24x0,5 cm environ
2 traces d'abrasion partie supérieure (uniquement au verso san répercussion sur la face
Présence de quelques piques au verso pas visible sur la face
Très bonne planéité
COTE DESSIN
Nous n'avons pas mis en évidence de dommage
HENRI MICHAUX
Henri Michaux, né en 1899 à Namur, est un écrivain et artiste belge naturalisé français en 1955. Bien que mordu de littérature, il débute sa vie professionnelle par des études de médecine qu’il abandonne rapidement pour se convertir en matelot.
En 1922, la lecture des Chants de Maldoror de Lautréamont lui insuffle l’envie d’écrire et il couche ainsi sur papier son premier texte, Cas de folie circulaire.
En 1925, un scénario similaire se produit : lors de sa visite de la première exposition des surréalistes, il se découvre une passion pour les arts graphiques, et est particulièrement marqué par les œuvres de Paul Klee. Dès lors il mêle mots et dessins dans ses écrits et tendra même dans les années 1950 à préférer l’expression graphique à l’expression littéraire.
L’impulsion première du cheminement artistique de Michaux réside dans l’exploration d’un ailleurs: celui qu'il a découvert dans ses voyages (Ecuador, 1929; Un barbare en Asie, 1933), celui, fictive qu'il puisse dans son imagination (Ailleurs, 1948). Son processus de travail se base en outre sur l’observation et l’analyse des mécanismes de la perception et de la façon dont elle se traduit en sensations.
De 1955 à 1961, Michaux pousse cette exploration à son apogée lorsqu’il consomme des substances hallucinogènes telle que la mescaline pour explorer son propre ailleurs interne. Cette découverte marque un profond tournant dans son œuvre dessinée. Il retranscrit alors ses visions mescaliniennes constituées de minuscules lignes fourmillant sur le papier. De petit format, ces œuvres semblent être une porte tout à la fois sur l’infiniment grand et sur l’infiniment petit, nous hypnotisant par cette saturation de motifs aux allures de traits de sismographe affolé.
Le dessin que nous vous proposons à la vente est issu d’une série que Michaux réalise lors de la rédaction de son livre Les grandes épreuves de l’Esprit, en 1965-1966 et qui met fin à ses expérimentations avec les substances hallucinogènes. Il s’agit donc d’un dessin post-mescalinien qui est une réminiscence de ces expériences hallucinées et qui montre à quel point cette exploration de sa psyché modifiée l’a marqué.