Arranging chaos: Ladislas Kijno was born in 1921 in Warsaw and passed away in Saint-Germain en Laye in 2012. He joined Germaine Richier's workshop at an early age, and it was she who encouraged him to dedicate himself to painting from 1954 onwards. Straddling between lyrical abstraction and abstract expressionism, Kijno's work draws inspiration from elements of reality and translates them into simple lines and forms in abstract compositions.
Kijno's canvases are textured. To achieve this result, he experimented with paper crumpling, canvas crumpling, and sprayed painting techniques. He collaborated extensively with poets such as Louis Aragon and paid tribute to prominent historical figures in his paintings. This monumental work consists of 5 panels repeating the same motifs in different color variations, making it one of the largest known works produced by the artist. Nourished by his studies in philosophy, Ladislas Kijno's work is intellectual, even political.


LADISLAS KIJNO (1921 - 2012)
Untitled, 1977
Polyptych of five oil on wood, signed at the bottom of the last panel
150 x 50 cm (per panel) - 59 1/16 x 19 11/16 in. (for each panel)
150 x 250 cm - 59 1/16 x 98 27/64 in.
We thank the Kijno Administration for kindly confirming the authenticity of this work.
Provenance
Private collection, Montpellier

Moving away from lyrical abstraction to approach the informal painting movement, Kijno favors structured compositions in a subdued palette. He uses glycerophthalic paints, with an airbrush and combs dipped in ink. These five panels are very characteristic of Kijno's production. Described as a metaphysical quest, his artistic work demonstrates a search for chaos, an absolute methodically arranged according to his own aesthetic criteria.
Eclectic, heterogeneous, Kijno's works express his intellectual and cultural universe, highly referenced, sometimes obscure, always fascinating. "Things escape us, slip constantly through our fingers imperceptibly, like sand; impossible to stay in the object: there are secret and contradictory transmissions, correlations, forms, primal forces, energy, upward currents, magnetic forces, driving tides, constant comings and goings; everything moves, everything cracks, everything holds together, and it must be accounted for on this small two-dimensional surface that is the canvas."

Other works by the artist:

 
LADISLAS KIJNO (1921 - 2012)
Untitled
Acrylic on canvas
Signed bottom right and numbered on the back n°28P, 812 637, SG25
46.3 x 38.3 cm - 18 15/64 x 15 5/64 in.
Provenance
Private collection, Paris region
We thank the Kijno Administration for kindly confirming the authenticity of this work.


LADISLAS KIJNO (1921 - 2012)
Hommage à Bryten (Britten?)
Acrylic on canvas
Signed bottom left.
Titled on the back "Pour Michel Lancelot au nom des mutants douloureux / Kijno / 1.12.75"
41 x 33.5 cm - 16 9/64 x 13 3/16 in.
Provenance
Private collection, Lille region
We thank the Kijno Administration for kindly confirming the authenticity of this work.

Contact
Ophélie Guillerot
+33 1  47 45 93 02
guillerot@aguttes.com