Large Blue 17

The gallery's
opinion

“Large Blue 17” belongs to the series of the same name. In this series of paintings on watercolour paper, M.Cohen explores the plastic characteristics of writing.

WRITING TO WRITE

Here, it is pure writing that takes over. Writing as a primary tool gives rhythm and breath. The writing is without message so that the only thing that remains is the pleasure of losing oneself in the movement and the colour.

HIDE AND REVEAL

M.Cohen produces and assembles large sections of a text that is all the more obscure because it is indecipherable. This mysterious language is alternately revealed or hidden by the colour. A diluted painting where traces, drips, crumpling, folds and assemblies contribute to masking the text. The viewer is then invited to question what is given to the eye and what is refused. He thus participates in the pugnacious and ardent quest for mystery. However, despite the different pictorial techniques that contribute to blurring the lines, the presence of water allows the fluidity and lightness of the composition to be maintained.

SEEING THE INVISIBLE

Finally, the ultimate provocation in this search for the unreadable is in the choice of the clearly identifiable shape of the iris and its pupil. This recurring motif in the Big Blue series invites us to accept that our gaze is not enough to reveal what the artist has chosen to hide. Despite the predominant writing, the painting is a plastic production, not literature. As a metaphor for art, “Large Blue 17” offers everyone the freedom of multiple interpretations or the simple pleasure of contemplation.

It will form a harmonious diptych with another painting of the same format such as “Large Blue 13“. Or even a quadriptych for a larger space.