Soulages at the Musée du Luxembourg : Paper, Light, Action
This autumn, the Musée du Luxembourg opens its doors to a different kind of light. Beginning September 17, 2025, the museum will host Soulages, Another Light . This landmark exhibition focused exclusively on the rarely exhibited paper works of Pierre Soulages, one of the most revered figures in postwar abstraction. This retrospective, running through January 11, 2026, brings together 130 works, over thirty of which have never been shown to the public. It marks the first major Parisian exhibition devoted solely to Soulages’ paintings on paper, revealing an often understated yet fundamental part of his six-decade artistic journey.
Soulages at Luxembourg : Paper, Light, Action
This autumn, the Musée du Luxembourg opens its doors to a different kind of light. Beginning September 17, 2025, the museum will host Soulages, Another Light . This landmark exhibition focused exclusively on the rarely exhibited paper works of Pierre Soulages, one of the most revered figures in postwar abstraction. This retrospective, running through January 11, 2026, brings together 130 works, over thirty of which have never been shown to the public. It marks the first major Parisian exhibition devoted solely to Soulages’ paintings on paper, revealing an often understated yet fundamental part of his six-decade artistic journey.
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A Light Among Darkness
Pierre Soulages, who passed away in 2022 at the age of 102, famously declared: “I love the authority of black, its gravity, its obviousness, its radicalism.” And yet, in this upcoming exhibition, it is not darkness that dominates: it is the matter of paper itself that promises revelation. In Soulages’ hands, paper is not merely a surface but a field of experimentation, a living material where walnut stain, ink, and gouache collide with light to produce something timeless. For many, Soulages is synonymous with outrenoir, the extraordinary black paintings that reflect and refract light in subtle waves. But Another Light rewinds the timeline, placing focus on the decades-long parallel body of work he created on paper—from his bold 1946 walnut stain gestures to his luminous ink wash compositions of the early 2000s. These works are quieter, smaller, but never lesser. They speak in rhythm, in texture, and in deliberate silence.
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The Decadence of Minimalism
Curated by Alfred Pacquement, honorary director of the Centre Pompidou, and Camille Morando, the exhibition is designed as a chronological and thematic walk through Soulages' evolving relationship with paper. From the walnut stain (brou de noix) works of the 1940s to the powerful gouaches of the 1970s and his final returns to the medium in the early 2000s. Visitors will encounter intimate works that explore contrast, rhythm, and materiality. Walnut stain, ink, and gouache interact with the white surface of the paper, not just as color, but as presence and absence, gesture and void. These are not sketches or studies for larger works—they are complete statements, rich with the same formal rigor and expressive power found in his monumental canvases. The scenography, eco-designed by Véronique Dollfus, immerses visitors in a rhythmic, almost musical visual experience: black marks, white voids, and silences between images. Full-length portraits and projected interviews punctuate the journey, allowing Soulages to speak for himself. The exhibition also features significant loans from the Musée Soulages in Rodez, many of them previously kept in the artist's personal collection. The display is supported by a robust cultural program, a richly illustrated catalogue, and newly published insights that deepen our understanding of Soulages' unique approach to paper.
-
A Light Among Darkness
Pierre Soulages, who passed away in 2022 at the age of 102, famously declared: “I love the authority of black, its gravity, its obviousness, its radicalism.” And yet, in this upcoming exhibition, it is not darkness that dominates: it is the matter of paper itself that promises revelation. In Soulages’ hands, paper is not merely a surface but a field of experimentation, a living material where walnut stain, ink, and gouache collide with light to produce something timeless. For many, Soulages is synonymous with outrenoir, the extraordinary black paintings that reflect and refract light in subtle waves. But Another Light rewinds the timeline, placing focus on the decades-long parallel body of work he created on paper—from his bold 1946 walnut stain gestures to his luminous ink wash compositions of the early 2000s. These works are quieter, smaller, but never lesser. They speak in rhythm, in texture, and in deliberate silence.
-
The Decadence of Minimalism
Curated by Alfred Pacquement, honorary director of the Centre Pompidou, and Camille Morando, the exhibition is designed as a chronological and thematic walk through Soulages' evolving relationship with paper. From the walnut stain (brou de noix) works of the 1940s to the powerful gouaches of the 1970s and his final returns to the medium in the early 2000s. Visitors will encounter intimate works that explore contrast, rhythm, and materiality. Walnut stain, ink, and gouache interact with the white surface of the paper, not just as color, but as presence and absence, gesture and void. These are not sketches or studies for larger works—they are complete statements, rich with the same formal rigor and expressive power found in his monumental canvases. The scenography, eco-designed by Véronique Dollfus, immerses visitors in a rhythmic, almost musical visual experience: black marks, white voids, and silences between images. Full-length portraits and projected interviews punctuate the journey, allowing Soulages to speak for himself. The exhibition also features significant loans from the Musée Soulages in Rodez, many of them previously kept in the artist's personal collection. The display is supported by a robust cultural program, a richly illustrated catalogue, and newly published insights that deepen our understanding of Soulages' unique approach to paper.
Information
Pierre Soulages, Another Light
17.09.25 – 11.01.26
Musée du Luxembourg, 19 Rue de Vaugirard, 6th Paris
Credits
- Sérigraphie/vélin. Impression Michel Caza, 1988
- Pierre Soulages, 2017, D’après Le Catalogue De L’exposition Französische Abstrakte Malerei, Stuttgart, 1948
- Pierre Soulages au Musée Fabre de Montpellier en 2006.PASCAL GUYOT / AFP
- Pierre Soulages, peinture, november 1996, Musee Soulages Rodez