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FauveParis

202 - Claude Viseux (1927–2008) Nocturne 1 1950 Painted metal, sig…
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Estimate €600 - €800
Sale commission
Description
Claude Viseux (1927–2008) Nocturne 1 1950 Painted metal, signed and dated at the bottom One-off piece H. 42.5 cm W. 27 cm ‘Being an observer is not enough. I must capture and recreate the appearance of things in another form in order to better negate reality.’ — Claude Viseux Claude Viseux was born and raised in Champagne-sur-Oise, in the Paris region. In 1946, he studied architecture at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. It was there that he met Jean Prouvé and Constantin Brancusi, and eventually decided to turn to painting. Success was almost immediate: his first exhibition was held at the Galerie Vibaud in 1952; by 1955 his works were being shown at René Drouin’s gallery; then Daniel Cordier chose him – for his very first exhibition! – in 1956. In 1957, he was honoured by Léo Castelli in New York! From 1959–1960, he created his first sculptures using objects found on the seashore – impressions of stones and seaweed cast in bronze – followed by industrial steel, cut, assembled and welded in the style of his Surrealist friends Max Ernst, Man Ray, Henri Michaux… In 1972, he represented the French pavilion at the Venice Biennale alongside Christian Boltanski, Jean le Gac and Gérard Titus-Carmel, where he unveiled his famous ‘Instables’ series. That same year, he installed a huge stainless-steel sculpture suspended in the Auber RER station in Paris. In 1977, to mark his 50th birthday, the Musée d’Art moderne de la ville de Paris organised an exhibition entitled ‘Viseux’ from June to September. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, he made numerous trips to India, whose myths and traditions subtly permeated his drawings and collages, and whose influence can also be seen in his sculptures. A year before his death, whilst living in Anglet – always close to the water – Claude Viseux continued to create collages blending the marine world with industrial forms, evoking the ‘Expériences automatiques du crabe’ – from the 1950s – and the sculptures that punctuated his career. The words of Geneviève Bonnefoi ring true: ‘Through such diverse explorations, one can discover in Viseux’s work a rather surprising continuity, an indisputable mark of his personality and temperament. He is one of those artists passionate about technique and knowledge who strive towards a ‘total art’, the only form capable of expressing the various aspirations of modern man.”
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About the sale Les Redécouvertes – 8th edition
Auction location
Auction time 07/18/2026 at 2:00 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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