31 Mars 1993

1993

White oil-bar applied flat, vertically, on tracing paper/film/polyester Herculene. 7 alternate horizontal strips, 38 cm wide (4 + 3) and, at the top and bottom, 2 19 cm partial strips + 4 77 cm breadths

Overall dimensions: 304 x 308 cm (119 11/16 x 121 1/4 in.)

White and cream lines alternate in a regular pattern, with horizontal and vertical folds providing rhythm to the polyester copy. To do this, Michel Parmentier used the folding method developed by Simon Hantaï in the early 1960s, and painted gradually each band with an oil bar, a type of oil painting in the form of sticks.

While Parmentier continued the representation of 38 cm-wide bands, begun in the 1960s, the work 31 mars 1993 (31 March 1993) still shows an actual evolution in his aesthetic concern. Here, the artist prefers the enhancement of the folding and of neutral colours, emphasising again his radical refusal of all kinds of expressiveness.

The work 31 mars 1993 by Michel Parmentier was first presented by the Pinault Collection at the 2016 “Accrochage” ("Hanging") exhibition at the Punta della Dogana.
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