Blue Raga, 1967

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

Asagao, 1961

In Homage to Webern No. 2 (En hommage à Webern n° 2), 1963

Le cercle de grande réserve, 1965

Dusk, Calm, Signals, 1966

Blue Raga, 1967

Alap, 1967

Two Blues, Two Greys, 1976

Jericho 1: An Allusion to Barnett Newman (Une allusion à Barnett Newman), 1978

T.D.S., 1988

B2 + w Ps, 1989–90

Yellow, Blue & Red IV (Jaune, bleu & rouge IV), 1999