The Watch Aunt's Temptation (2018)Reality of Color

By The Paris Review

Look

“The visual is a language that must be learnt too, as one learns French or English or Arabic,” said the artist and poet Etel Adnan in an interview earlier this year with Apartamento.“What I love about colours though is that we cannot own colour; we can only accept its reality.” If anyone could stake a claim on color, though, it would be Adnan, now ninety-five and continuing her relentless pursuit of a vocabulary all her own. Few other artists wield such a range of shades with her confidence; it seems nearly impossible that one could encounter her paintings and tapestries without feeling the slightest spark of joy at the wild, vibrant hues she conjures: pungent neon greens, charred oranges, and sad, bluish grays light enough to display the mark of the brush. “Seasons,” Adnan’s second solo exhibition with Galerie Lelong & Co. in New York, will be on view through December 23, 2020. A selection of images from the show appears below.

Etel Adnan, Au matin, 2017, wool tapestry, 56 1/4 x 78 3/4″. © Etel Adnan. Courtesy Galerie Lelong & Co.

 

Etel Adnan, L’Olivier, 2019, wool tapestry, 55 x 78 3/4″. © Etel Adnan. Courtesy Galerie Lelong & Co.

 

Etel Adnan, Planète 17, 2020, oil on canvas, 13 x 8 5/8″. © Etel Adnan. Courtesy Galerie Lelong & Co.

 

Etel Adnan, Terre de Feu, 2018, wool carpet, 69 x 90 1/2″. © Etel Adnan. Courtesy Galerie Lelong & Co.

 

Etel Adnan, Vignoble, 2018, tapestry, 59 x 73″. © Etel Adnan. Courtesy Galerie Lelong & Co.

 

Etel Adnan, Planète 16, 2020, oil on canvas, 13 x 8 5/8″. © Etel Adnan. Courtesy Galerie Lelong & Co.

 

Etel Adnan, Signes, 2015, ink on paper, book: 11 1/2 x 3 1/2″, full length: 165″. © Etel Adnan. Courtesy Galerie Lelong & Co.

 

Etel Adnan, Planète 12, 2020, oil on canvas, 13 x 8 5/8″. © Etel Adnan. Courtesy Galerie Lelong & Co.

 

“Seasons” will be on view at Galerie Lelong & Co. through December 23, 2020.

Author

Editorial Team

Our editorial team is dedicated to delivering accurate, timely, and engaging content. With expertise across various domains, we strive to inform and inspire our readers.