signed, titled, dated 2017 and inscribed “en mauve et vert” on the reverse; unframed
24 × 24 in (61.0 × 61.0 cm)
(including Buyer's Premium)
Private Collection, Montreal
Originating in Zen Buddhism, a Koan is a paradoxical question, statement, or anecdote used in meditation to disrupt logical thinking and provoke insight or enlightenment. A classic example of a Koan is “Two hands clap and there is a sound. What is the sound of one hand?” The point is not to solve it rationally, but to move beyond reason into a different kind of understanding.
In choosing the title Koan, Claude Tousignant is inviting contemplation rather than interpretation, perhaps suggesting a meditative experience. Tousignant’s groundbreaking career has been closely aligned with Op Art, an extension of hard-edge painting characterized by lines, shapes and movement that appear to the viewer as a result of optical illusions. The artist also advocated turning the painting into an autonomous and self-referential object in itself, rather than an object of representation. It is fitting that Tousignant has remained committed to exploring new modes of perception, from his Op Art investigations of the 1960s through to Koan in 2017.
