Vibrant color fields collide and interlock in a dynamic composition, forming rhythms that are partly orderly, partly disorderly, yet always charged with tension. Using these techniques, Serge Poliakoff developed a highly individual form of abstract painting characterized by a high recognition value. A bright yellow field of color on the right edge is artfully interlocked with blue and black. Next to it, polygonal fields of color in earth tones of red and brown interlock, foreshadowing his later work, which is characterized by a reduction of polychrome hues to monochrome in earth tones. However, our “Composition multicolore” from 1950 can be regarded as an outstanding piece from Poliakoff’s early period, characterized by clearly contoured, gently merging color fields. Gradually intensifying towards the center of the painting, form and color unite to create a harmonious whole.
Before Poliakoff was able to dedicate his life to art again in Paris from 1923 onwards, his existence was marked by turbulence. After attending painting classes in Moscow in 1914, he found the political situation in Russia becoming increasingly tense, prompting him to flee the country following the November Revolution in 1920. After various stops along his way, he eventually made his way to Paris, where he was finally able to resume his studies in painting. Inspired by formative encounters with other artists such as Robert and Sonia Delaunay, Wassily Kandinsky, and Otto Freundlich, Poliakoff's interest in the expressive power of color grew in the 1930s, leading his work to become more abstract after its figurative beginnings. While he still tended to use shades of gray in the 1940s, from 1950 onwards he expanded his spectrum to include bright and contrasting tones, as can be clearly seen in our early composition. However, the 1950s were not only a turning point in Serge Poliakoff's life from a purely artistic point of view. Having had to earn a living with his music since his emigration, he was not able to devote himself entirely to painting until the early 1950s. The first exhibition of his abstract works opened in Paris in 1945, followed by major solo exhibitions in New York and Brussels in 1953. Serge Poliakoff became a key representative of the Nouvelle École de Paris and, until he died in 1969, rose to become one of the most significant protagonists of European Color Field painting. [AW]