The gallery Catherine Putman is presenting an exceptional series of Georges Noël’s works on paper (1924, Béziers – 2010, Paris). During the past year, an inventory of the artist's studio has been completed and the works in the Estate digitized. From this ensemble, the gallery has selected two series of drawings, the first from the end of the 60’s and the second from the beginning to mid-80’s. Neither have been shown in public before.

In the exhibition held in 2008 before the artist’s death, the gallery showed drawings from the early to mid-60’s -  «Palimpsests» from the first Parisian period - and some drawings from the late 1980’s to early 90’s. This time, the first room will be devoted to an extremely rare series of « Targets»,  «Scores» and  «Stencils» that Georges Noël realized in Paris in 1967-1968 before leaving for the United States in 1968 and settling in New York in 1969.  Unlike the «Palimpsests», composed of a loose gestural handwriting and abstract signs, these works consist of more precise, but nonetheless aleatory interventions: circles or letters placed on an orthogonal or circular grid. Thus random confronts the rules of geometry, evoking the combinatorial principles peculiar to the thought of the time. The artist was revolting against his previous work,  substituting imprints made with metallic stencils for his earlier freehand style.

Upon his return to France in 1983, Georges Noël re-invented his  gestural sign language.  In the second room we will present large drawings on paper from this period, influenced by his fascination for Indian civilizations, their shamanistic practices and their knowledge of occult powers. He uses assemblage and collage as if they were magic acts of structuring chance. Titles such as‘‘Cuzco’’, ‘‘Ephemeral’’ echo his trips to Peru, Equator, Mexico, and then Japan.

Georges Noël’s renovated studio in Paris will open its doors to interested visitors on March 31st and April 1st (more information on www.georgesnoel.org, or by contacting the gallery).