georges bernède: material gestures

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GEORGES BERNÈDE

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GEORGES BERNÈDE

12th September – 14th October 2011

6 DUKE STREET ST. JAMES’S LONDON SW1Y 6BNTEL. +44 (0)20 7930 9332 EMAIL info@whitfordfineart.com

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All works are for sale

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Composition 86 1986

Oil on canvas, 49.5 x 61 cm

Signed and dated lower centre, signed and dated verso

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Composition 92 1992

Oil on canvas, 116 x 89 cm

Signed and dated lower right, signed and dated verso

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Born in 1926, Georges Bernède started painting in 1942. Whils t the German oc cupation of Parishad forced many artis ts to flee the F rench capital, Bernède’s hometown of Monségur, nearBordeaux, was situated in the so-called Zone Libre, where life continued relatively uninterrupted.Under the influence of the established painter Mildred Bendall (1891-1977), who had sought refugein Monségur, Bernède began as a figurative expressionist. Drawing on Bendall’s training with HenriMatisse, Bernède used s trong colour as building bl ocks, abandoning black tr acing for shadows.These canvases were exhibited at the yearly exhibitions of the ‘Artistes Indépendants de Bordeaux’,the Group ‘Sève’ and the Group ‘Le Regard’ during the 1940s and 1950s.

The post-war years heralded exciting and inno vative styles of Abs traction on both sides of theAtlantic. New York’s Abstract Expressionism and Action P ainting echoed in its Eur opeancounterpart known as ‘ Art Informel’, with its sub-v ariants of Lyrical Abstraction and Tachism.Generally these s tyles involved paint spont aneously dribbled, splashed or smear ed onto thecanvas, rather than being carefully applied. The resulting work usually emphasised the physical actor ‘geste’ of painting itself as an essential aspect of the finished work.

Bernède first turned to Lyrical Abstraction during the early 1960s. Yet, in his continuous search toexpress the essence of life, to establish an analogy to musical rhythm and to touch the viewer deepinto the subconscious mind, Bernède gradually grew to gestural painting, partnered with a blackand white palette. Whilst being deceptively subtle, these paintings hav e a dynamic, spont aneousand dramatic impact through the energetic application of the paint. Bernède’s paintings are easilyaccessible for they evoke the c ollective sense of an ar chetypal visual language, and aid acivilisation’s understanding of the world through heightened self-consciousness and awareness, aconcept adopted by the Action painters from Freud and Jung.

Although his work bears obvious similarities to that of Franz Kline, Bernède was never an imitator,for with Matisse as a starting point, his style evolved instinctively through disciplined research andprogress, as his artistic development over the years testifies. Bernède continues to reside and paint in Monségur, France.

An Jo Fermon, September 2011

GEORGES BERNÈDE

Material Gestures

Front cover: Composition 91-8 1991 (oil on canvas, 91.5 x 61 cm)

Back cover: Composition 92 C 1992 (oil on canvas, 116 x 80 cm)

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Composition 86-78 1986

Oil on canvas, 81 x 100 cm

Signed and dated lower right, signed and dated verso

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Composition 86-20 1986

Oil on canvas, 81 x 100.5 cm

Signed and dated lower right, signed and dated verso

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Composition 64-1 1964

Oil on canvas, 66 x 51 cm

Signed and dated lower right, signed and dated verso

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Composition 92 B 1992

Oil on canvas, 65 x 50 cm

Signed and dated verso

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Composition 84 1984

Oil on canvas, 130 x 96.5 cm

Signed and dated lower right, signed and dated verso

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Composition 87 1987

Oil on canvas, 81 x 100 cm

Signed and dated lower right, signed and dated verso

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Composition 84-24 1984

Oil on canvas, 100 x 81 cm

Signed and dated lower right, signed and dated verso

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Composition 92 A 1992

Oil on canvas, 116 x 81 cm

Signed and dated lower right, signed and dated verso

Text and images: © Whitford Fine Art

Produced by Artmedia Press Ltd • London

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GEORGES BERNÈDE

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