Richard LAILLIER (b. 1961). Noires, 1994. Black stone drawin - Lot 333

Richard LAILLIER (b. 1961). Noires, 1994. Black stone drawing on cardboard, 15.5 x 7.5 cm. Signed on verso of frame. Bibliography: Richard Laillier, Noires, Jean-Pierre Faur éditeur, 1994. Prix Sade 2012, documents category. "It starts with a big white space. The sheet of paper. Richard Laillier attacks this white with sandpaper, sanding it down, making it less smooth, more receptive. Then, with black stone, a kind of very dry, matte charcoal, reduced to powder, he blackens it. Using large circular gestures and a cloth, the black material cancels out the white of the paper. Total blackout. It's only in a third stage that Laillier uses an eraser to bring out the shapes and lines of the paper. He removes the black, digs in and returns to the white, which was always there, hidden. Richard Laillier, who lives and works in Paris, has been practicing this technique for decades, similar to the use of dark matter in printmaking. The blacks are deep, the matter dense and voluptuous. Whites are nothing more than memories, taking on shades of gray, beige and smoke" http://galerie-audrey-marty.com/richard-laillier/. Bibliography: Richard Laillier, Noires, Jean-Pierre Faur éditeur, 1994.