Blue Raga, 1967

Minimal, abstract painting by Yves Gaucher with a solid deep blue background. Short, thin horizontal lines, painted in two shades of dark green, are arranged near the top and side edges of the piece. A thicker green line appears running along the bottom edge.

Yves Gaucher, Blue Raga, 1967, acrylic on canvas, 122 x 122 cm, Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal.

In the Raga paintings—their title reflecting Gaucher’s passion for Indian music—we find Gaucher veering toward a subjective immersion in individual colours. The single colour grounds of the Ragas become their major theme. The overlying signals and bands are no longer the main event but serve to enhance and intensify the breadth and depth of each painting’s hue. These paintings are slower than their predecessors. They unfold their rhythms more discreetly, and they introduce a mood of contemplativeness.

Gallery

Blue Raga - Art Canada