Bernard Aubertin
(France 1934 – 2015 Germany)
“Untitled”, 1968
Painted nails on wooden panel : 90 x 50 cm
Signed and dated on the back “Bernard Aubertin, 1968”
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Notes
Bernard AUBERTIN was a member of the Düsseldorf “Zero Group” of Heinz Mack, Otto Piene and Günther Uecker. His artistic activity took place initially in Paris and then from the ’70s in Brest and for long periods between Brescia and Verona.
Following a visit to the Paris studio of Yves Klein in 1957, Bernard Aubertin was inspired to follow in Klein’s footsteps and work within the field of monochromy, a style that he adamantly adhered to throughout his career. He chose a vibrant red hue for its compelling dichotomy: on the one hand, it evokes violence as the colour of blood and fire and on the other it embodies an infinite and anonymous purity. In addition, the colour red is also rich in psycho-analytical interpretations and connotations and has peculiar optical effects on the viewer.
During the 1960s Aubertin used his colour red to cover his ‘Tableaux-clou’ (nail-paintings). Subsequently his practice evolved into the ‘Tableaux-feu’ (fire-paintings), marking his transition to the ephemeral; the canvas, consisting of matches, lighting up with live and real flame.Thus, the medium of fire effectively becomes the physical manifestation of his chosen colour. Many of the works consist of abstract compositions using matches that were later burned, creating variations caused by the spontaneous nature of flame. The process by which the works are created is inherent in the final product and the viewer can clearly see the charred transformation that took place. In effect, the destructive nature of fire becomes a mode of creation and rebirth. Through his performances of burning paintings, books and objects,
In time, Aubertin also became considered a conceptual and perfomance artist.
Since the 1960s, Aubertin’s work has been widely exhibited throughout Europe and the United States. In 1977, Aubertin was invited to show at Documenta 6, Kassel, Germany. In 2011 he showed at the 54th Venice Biennale. In 2012, Aubertin produced a happening of burning a series of fire paintings at the Palais de Tokyo, Paris.
Public collections include
Bibliothèque Nationale de Paris, Paris
Musée de Grenoble, Grenoble
Centre National de l’Art Contemporain, Paris
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
Musée de Graz, Graz
Museum of Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf
Museum am Ostwall, Dortmund
Museum Moderner Kunst, Klagenfurt
Archivio della Grazia di Nuova Scrittura, Milan
Museu Coleção Berardo, Lisbon
The Norton Museum of Art, Palm Beach
Museo de Arte Moderno, Venezuela
Provenance
- Private collection, Paris
- Artcurial, Paris
- Douwes Fine Art, Amsterdam
Expertise
This work is registered in the Archives Bernard Aubertin.
Solo Exhibitions
2017, Bernard Aubertin Situazione Pittorica del Rosso, opere degli anni sessanta e settanta, ABC-ARTE Gallery, Genoa; In Memoriam – Hommage à Bernard Aubertin (1934-2015), Galerie Jean Brolly, Paris.
2016, Bernard Aubertin, Leeahn Gallery, Seoul; RED | The Estate of Bernard Aubertin, De Buck Gallery, New York.
2015, Bernard Aubertin et Bernard Rancillac: de rouge à rouge, Galerie Jean Brolly, Paris; Bernard Aubertin: Von ZERO bis heute, Galerie Heinz Holtmann, Cologne.
2014, Bernard Aubertin und Zeitgenossen, Galerie Maulberger, Munich; Bon anniversaire Bernard!, Galerie Jean Brolly, Paris
2013, Zéro Paris-Düsseldorf, Passage de Retz. Paris; La nature des choses, MAMAC, Nice
2012, Livres brûlés, Galerie Jean Brolly, Paris; Tout feu tout flamme, Tornabuoni Art, Paris; Rouge, galerie Jean Brolly, Paris; Bernard Aubertin – Works from 1958-1989, The Mayor Gallery, London.
2010, Tableaux feu et monochromes, Galerie Jean Brolly, Paris.
2009, 75 x Aubertin, Stiftung für konkrete Kunst, Reutlingen.
2006, Bernard Aubertin. Peintures monochromes, Galerie Jean Brolly, Paris; Bernard Aubertin. Le rouge total, Galleria CIDAC Arte, Brescia, Italy.
1990, Galerie Gilbert Brownstone & Cie, Paris; Galleria Vinciana, Milan; Galerie Jousse Saguin, Paris
1989, Galeria Oscar Ascanio, Caracas; Galerie Schoeller, Düsseldorf
1988, Galerie Gilbert Brownstone & Cie, Paris; Stiftung fur Konkrete Lunst, Archiv, Reutlingen
1987, Galerie Béatrix Wilhelm, Stuttgart
1986, Galerie Charley Chevalier, Paris
1983, Galerie Donguy, Paris; Galerie Toni Brechbühl, Grenchen
1979, Galerie Weiller, Paris
1978, Palazzetto dello Sport, Abano Terme; Galerie 44, Kaarst by Dusseldorf
1977, Galleria Rebus, Florence
1975, Studio Brescia, Brescia; Galleria Il Punto, Turin
1974, Galerie 2, Stuttgart, Studio Brescia, Brescia, Italy; Galleria Banco, Brescia, Italy; Studio Firenze Art Contemporanea, Florence; Galleria dei Mille, Bergamo, Italy; Galleria Delta, Salerno, Italy, Studio F22, Palazzolo, Italy; Galleria Il Canale, Venice
1973, Galerie Toni Brechbühl, Grenchen, Switzerland; Musée de l’Abbaye Sainte-Croix, Sables-d’Olonne, France; Galerie Seebacher, Austria
1972, Retrospective Exhibition, C.N.A.C., Paris
1971, Galerie Ursula Lichter, Frankfurt
1969, Galerie Senatore, Stuttgart
1968, Galerie des Quatre Vents, Paris; Galerie Riquelme, Paris; Leine Galerie e V., Frankfurt
1967, Falerie Weiller, Paris; Galerie M.E. Thelen, Essen
1962, Galerie Wulfengasse, Austria
ZERO Group Exhibitions
1973, Sammlung Cremer, Musée des Beaux-Arts, Tübingen
1972, Otto Piene Lichtballet und Kunstler der Gruppe Zero, Galerie Heseler, Munich
1971, Sammlung Cremer, Kunst der 60er Jahre, Kunstverein, Heidelberg
1969, Dynamozero 1959 – 1969, Galerie Ursula Lichter, Frankfurt
1968, Cinétisme, Maison de la Culture, Grenoble, France
1967, Luminism, George Washington Hotel, New York
1966, Destruction in Art symposium, London; Climat 66, Musée de Grenoble, France
1965, Zero – Avant – Garde, Atelier de Fontana, Milan
1962, Zero, Galerie Schindler, Berne
1961, Zero, Galerie Dato, Frankfurt