Page 56 - Studio International - January 1967

Alviani these bars all receive the same amount of light, the
Superficie a texture vibratile `painting' becomes more and more luminous as the num-
1961
Aluminium ber of bars increases. The work leaves a lasting impression
of serenity and maturity, and reminds one—in spite of the
differences in technique—of the yellow and white compo-
sitions completed by Mondrian in 1935 and 1936.
The young twenty-year-old artist Franceschi could be
described as a follower of Soto. But he extends the scope
of Soto's work by arranging structures against a patterned
background so that they disappear completely as the
spectator moves across the room. The artist is trying to
develop a modern means to express the conquest of the
invisible; it is an urgent search, one which will probably
be taken up by others. Alviani's Superficie a texture vibratile
(Surface with Vibratory Texture) was also an exciting work.
By using narrow strips of aluminium Alviani endows the
surface with kinetic movement without having recourse
to any external elements. The play of light changes
according to both the position of the light-source and the
spectator's movements. In this work, as in the rest of this
particular room, modulation was the fundamental factor.
There were no brutal shocks, no optical 'aggression' :
Gorin
Relief spatio-temporel no. 17 almost all these artists offer supple and flexible progres-
1966 sion, linked with a melodic use of light.
39 3/8 x 39 3/8 in. The same climate of serenity reigned in the very fine
Gorin exhibition organized by Yvon Lambert in the
JEUNE GALERIE in an attempt to redress the general lack
of interest in geometrical art.
Gorin is a special case in the history of modern painting:
as a fanatical disciple of Mondrian, whom he met in
1927, he developed a noble pattern of work which made
no concessions to contemporary taste and meant that,
like Mondrian, the artist lived in a state bordering on
abject poverty. Before even examining the artist's work
closely, one is struck by the extent to which this little
Breton is the living incarnation of the neo-plasticist out-
look: discreet, modest, devoted to the unobtrusive work
which he has pursued in almost total silence, he has
entered art as one enters religion. No single incident in
his life has compromised his spiritual progress. His work
is certainly not—as some make out—a mere duplication of
Mondrian's efforts. In his reliefs, Gorin interrupts the
Dutch artist's impeccable compositions with vigorous
perpendicular lines. In a spirit reminiscent of the trun-
Gorin
Conquête de l'espace no. 1 cated columns of Pevsner, despite technical differences,
1966 Gorin's works seem to trap the essence of dynamic move-
31 1/2 x 35 1/2 x 8 1/4 in.
ment. Placed in the middle of a white wall, they seem to
spread out and occupy the entire surface: they are
extended in space well beyond the confines of the actual
painting; and in these rigorous compositions Gorin in-
cludes very discrete effects of optical modulation which
causes a slight trembling in the retina of the spectator.
Here too the neo-plastic message is expanded dynamically
(as Mondrian attempted to do at the end of his life). This
whole exhibition, held without the usual trappings of
publicity, was one of the successes of the season.
The exhibition with the greatest snob appeal of any
held recently in Paris, was at the PAVILLON DE MARSAN,
where under the title The Art Gallery in the Factory we were
offered a model of the Dutch Peter Stuyvesant cigarette
factory; the directors of the company, ardent humanists,
felt it their duty to decorate the walls with gigantic