THE ARTS

The memory of a tale that he illustrated for me, twenty years ago, without us having had to know each other, led me to the exhibition of Kupka's recent works, at the La Boëtie gallery. I was expecting an overall view of the marvelous drawings that he made, in particular for Man and Earth, Reclus and the Erinnyes.
It's something else entirely: arabesques, if you like, meanders of shapes and marvelous colors, which were inspired in Kupka by visions of things. He wanted to express the essential aspects, seen by him, intellectually. The result, for the least prejudiced eyes, is dazzling decorative compositions that could be used, for example, for the adornment of books with high-end, unique copies - or for stained glass windows.
This has nothing to do with the astonishing cubism. These are compositions based on real facts. No. 47 had indeed its origins in visions of the Esterel, of the greenery of its pines, of the rocks of the neighboring coasts and of the aquatic depths of the Mediterranean.

The movement of waters, the crystallization of gels, the incurvations of pistils, the entanglements of vessels and nerves in living matter have their reflections in these strange curves and nuances. Should we salute here the dawn of a new art? Are there not comparable enchantments in the achievements of the decorators of the Orient and the Far East?

Kupka's desire to unite the arts and sciences in a common expression is close, in any case, to the hidden ideal of the native mentalities of our Southern Lands. But that would require developments that are not included in a simple note by which I wanted to draw the attention of the Southerners to an original work.

Emile Solari,