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Le cercle de grande réserve, 1965

Minimal, abstract painting by Yves Gaucher made on a square canvas and tilted 45 degrees to resemble a diamond. Its solid beige background is decorated with crisp, symmetrical lines arranged in Xs and painted in green and pink with small baby blue diamonds on either side of the central X. A thin green border runs along the edges of the canvas.

Yves Gaucher, Le cercle de grande réserve, 1965, acrylic on canvas, 215.9 x 215.9 cm, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto.

Le cercle de grande réserve is from Gaucher’s diamond-shaped Square Dances (Danses carrées) series of 1965, his first important paintings to emerge from the In Homage to Webern prints. The compositions may be symmetrical—on either one or both axes—but the kinetic colour activity sets them in rapid motion as if they were echoing the steps and movements of the square dances that they are named after.


Gaucher applied his paint with a roller, using masking tape to keep the edges straight and crisp. The Square Dances were the closest that Gaucher came to making optical art.

Gallery

Print by Yves Gaucher depicting rough, flat stones. Smaller stones in light grey are layered on top of two larger, darker stones.

Asagao, 1961

Minimal print by Yves Gaucher of small boxes and lines, some filled in with black or grey ink and some left empty, debossed into a large sheet of otherwise empty white paper.

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

Minimal, abstract painting by Yves Gaucher made on a square canvas and tilted 45 degrees to resemble a diamond. Its solid beige background is decorated with crisp, symmetrical lines arranged in Xs and painted in green and pink with small baby blue diamonds on either side of the central X. A thin green border runs along the edges of the canvas.

Le cercle de grande réserve, 1965

Minimalist abstract painting by Yves Gaucher with a solid red background. Short, thin horizontal lines, painted in blue and green, are arranged into three columns near the middle of the piece and appear in stacked pairs except for two green lines nearest to the centre. Thicker green lines appear on the top and bottom edges of the piece.

Dusk, Calm, Signals, 1966

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.

Blue Raga, 1967

Minimal, abstract painting by Yves Gaucher with a solid grey background. Six short, thin horizontal lines, painted in two shades of light green, are sparsely arranged near the top and bottom of the piece.

Alap, 1967

Minimalist painting by Yves Gaucher consisting of a wide rectangular canvas divided into four equal horizontal stripes in solid shades of (from top to bottom) dark blue, dark grey, lighter blue, and lighter grey.

Two Blues, Two Greys, 1976

Minimalist diptych paintings by Yves Gaucher with each canvas divided diagonally into two areas, one solid black and one solid dark grey.

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

Minimalist painting by Yves Gaucher of a long and wide canvas divided into six vertical stripes of solid colours (two low contrast dark greys, a blue, mauve, and two greens). The colours are divided mostly by perpendicular edges but the ones at the far ends are instead divided by subtlety articulated diagonals.

T.D.S., 1988

Minimalist painting by Yves Gaucher of a long and wide canvas divided into four solid colours (white, two off-whites, and a larger area of light blue in the centre). The colours are divided mostly by perpendicular edges but some are instead divided by subtlety articulated diagonals.

B2 + w Ps, 1989–90

Artwork by Yves Gaucher composed of three abutted monochrome panels in primary yellow, blue and red with the middle blue panel slightly offset to be higher than the others.

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

Print by Yves Gaucher depicting rough, flat stones. Smaller stones in light grey are layered on top of two larger, darker stones.

Asagao, 1961

Minimal print by Yves Gaucher of small boxes and lines, some filled in with black or grey ink and some left empty, debossed into a large sheet of otherwise empty white paper.

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

Minimal, abstract painting by Yves Gaucher made on a square canvas and tilted 45 degrees to resemble a diamond. Its solid beige background is decorated with crisp, symmetrical lines arranged in Xs and painted in green and pink with small baby blue diamonds on either side of the central X. A thin green border runs along the edges of the canvas.

Le cercle de grande réserve, 1965

Minimalist abstract painting by Yves Gaucher with a solid red background. Short, thin horizontal lines, painted in blue and green, are arranged into three columns near the middle of the piece and appear in stacked pairs except for two green lines nearest to the centre. Thicker green lines appear on the top and bottom edges of the piece.

Dusk, Calm, Signals, 1966

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.

Blue Raga, 1967

Minimal, abstract painting by Yves Gaucher with a solid grey background. Six short, thin horizontal lines, painted in two shades of light green, are sparsely arranged near the top and bottom of the piece.

Alap, 1967

Minimalist painting by Yves Gaucher consisting of a wide rectangular canvas divided into four equal horizontal stripes in solid shades of (from top to bottom) dark blue, dark grey, lighter blue, and lighter grey.

Two Blues, Two Greys, 1976

Minimalist diptych paintings by Yves Gaucher with each canvas divided diagonally into two areas, one solid black and one solid dark grey.

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

Minimalist painting by Yves Gaucher of a long and wide canvas divided into six vertical stripes of solid colours (two low contrast dark greys, a blue, mauve, and two greens). The colours are divided mostly by perpendicular edges but the ones at the far ends are instead divided by subtlety articulated diagonals.

T.D.S., 1988

Minimalist painting by Yves Gaucher of a long and wide canvas divided into four solid colours (white, two off-whites, and a larger area of light blue in the centre). The colours are divided mostly by perpendicular edges but some are instead divided by subtlety articulated diagonals.

B2 + w Ps, 1989–90

Artwork by Yves Gaucher composed of three abutted monochrome panels in primary yellow, blue and red with the middle blue panel slightly offset to be higher than the others.

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