Mubin Orhon

Estate of the artist, Paris; thence by descent (collection of Benedicte Orhon)

Condition: This work is in good condition. The canvas has been relined and there is very minor craquelure from centre left to centre and only visible under inspection. The colours in the catalogue illustration are accurate; however, the overall tonality tends towards a brighter red in the actual work.
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Coming from the artist's daughter's personal collection, Untitled was painted at the height of Mubin's career in the 1970s.

Mubin was born and educated in 1924 in Istanbul before moving to France in 1947 to do his master's degree in Economics. However, after participating in drawing classes at the Grande Chaumière Academy in Paris, he focused on his art. He exhibited in prominent shows including the Salon de Realités Nouvelles and Salons de Mai over the years of 1950 and 1957. His first solo exhibition was held at Galerie Iris Clert in 1956, considered to be one of the most avant-garde galleries of the French capital, and at Galerie Lucien Durand and Galeri Gervis in later years. His success continued to grow but his well being at times was dependent on a close circle of collector friends who supported him throughout his life, most notably, Lady and Lord Sainsbury.

Mubin was a committed exponent of Tachism, a style of Abtract Expressionism which became more widespread in Europe from 1940s onwards. Spontaneity and intuitive expression place Mubin within the framework of the Art Informel movement that championed a more instinctual approach. Working with a loaded brush, Mubin used large sweeping brushstrokes across his canvas, colours mostly vibrant that they had the effect of a light box, yet always executed with utmost grace. Mubin's works from 1970s were to make up one of the two most significant periods in his career. After the vivacious, dynamic and complex compositions of the 1960s, the first crucial period in Mubin's oeuvre, he developed more tranquil and monochromatic paintings infused with the serenity of the East. He had to return to Turkey in 1964 to do his military service where he continued to exhibit until returning to France in 1973. The current work is from this second stage of his life in Paris where he increasingly painted these beautiful, strong compositions through which he endeavoured to explore each colour and tone at a time. The depth and contrast achieved through contracting, intertwined angular forms so close in tone became hallmarks of his aesthetic. Most works from this period were produced on paper, and it is rare to find such large monochromatic works on canvas.

Mubin's powerful paintings are a profound expression of emotion through the medium of colour. His innate understanding of colour and its psychological influence is almost supernatural, and his canvases do not fail to leave an emotional impact.