Date : 2007
Support : Painting
Size : 113 x 105 cm
Acrylic on canvas
Since 1973, Martin Barré returned to his radical and studied attempts at rendering the fragmentation of space, surface and his work. The artist produces entire series of works and creates geometric assemblies. He brings together triangles, squares and rectangles, sometimes truncated or tinted, and hangs them according to their geometric shape.
© Adagp, Paris, 1976
Reduction and concentration are the key words of this work. Martin Barré rejected figurative painting to devote himself to exploring the rules of painting. Let us take a look at how he goes about it. In this painting, for example, he has drawn pink parallel lines and hatchings freehand. Notice how the free movement contrasts with the geometric strictness of the other elements in the painting. The artist plays on this contrast. We can appreciate the role of the composition in the work. There are two grids within the painting. The first, which can hardly be made out, has been sketched with a drawing pencil. It fits perfectly within the border of the painting. This is the traditional technique of copying a picture using a grid. It serves as a basis for second inclined grid, sketched in black. The relationship between the two grids is governed by established rules of mathematical harmony. The sources of Martin Barré’s work are derived from those of, for example, Leonardo da Vinci. Take a closer look. Within the frame, the hatchings form an initial drawing, but the eye is drawn instinctively toward the real grid to form a second square. By the simple construction of the painting, Martin Barré manages to go beyond the strict limits of the frame.
