Simon Hantaï developed his well-known pliage process as a disciplined way to reorganize the surface of a painting. In his approach, a canvas is physically crumpled and knotted, then painted over, and finally spread out to expose an interplay of pigment and reserve. For the later dernier atelier works shown in this exhibition, that folding-and-unfolding method is paired with dripping effects that push color into uneven rhythms.
Hantaï’s studio practice also extended beyond individual canvases. Many works were built as layered studio constructions, including paintings stapled together and presented in stratified arrangements, so the room’s depth becomes part of what you experience. This late body of work reflects an extended interval when he declined to exhibit new work publicly, using the studio as a site for continued experimentation with format, layering, and the visible consequences of handling paint.
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