Lucien Ruolle

Lucien Ruolle (1925-1991) is a modern artist who was part of the abstract expressionist movement during the late 50's and early 60's. His works often incorporate figures of abstraction within compositions of bright colors. His work is often defined as voyeuristic. Ruolle was born on April 25, 1925 in Paris, and he received his artistic education at the Lycee Voltaire- College d'Arsonval a Saint-Maur and at the College Amedee Gasquet-Beaux Arts de Clermont-Ferrand. Ruolle's career was supported by the American art dealer Sebastian dell'Albergo.

History

Ruolle grew up in the area of Paris near Richard-Lenoir (Paris Metro), living above his family's mechanical wokshop, and was often ordered around by his domineering father who would measure the slices of bread Lucien ate during his meals. Ruolle was forced to work in mechanics in lieu of his ambitions to be an artist. In order to conceal his artistic work from his father, Ruolle set up a secret studio which he christened "The Laboratory", a private place where he was able to "experiment" on his art and "observe" the world. Ruolle as the technician and voyeur has been noted in his work. Trajedy first struck Ruolle during the 2nd World War when he and his family were forced to labor in an armament factory in the Harz Mountains of Germany. Ruolle's family would eventually escape to Clermont-Ferrand where Lucien would eventually begin his formal art training. However, his brother would die at only 27 years. Ruolle experienced tradjedy again by loosing the love of his life to [...], only able to finally achieve some serenity by an American lady whom had been a great council for him during the following years. Ruolle sold his first painting in 1955 for the sum of 10,000 old francs, AbOUT the sum of $20 American dollars.

Ruolle's preliminary sale caught the attention of Sebastian dell'Albergo, an American art dealer of the Peggy Guggenheim circle. Albergo guaranteed to represent him if he created a complete body of work suitable for exhibition. Ruolle agreed to the proposal and would work diligently to produce one canvas per day over a period of two years.

After the body of work was completed, Albergo chose the most dynamic examples to create Ruolle's first major art exhibition in Monaco at the Galerie Hermitage Monte Carlo in 1958. The exhibition was a success, and Albergo became Ruolle's exclusive art dealer in the U.S., displaying Ruolle's works at Albergo's Belmont Gallery on Chicago's Magnificent Mile.

Today, Lucien Ruolle's work can be found in important private and museum collections around the world. Some of the most recent auction sales of Ruolle's work include: Ardente Declaration, sold on July 19, 1992; Abstracto, sold on October 20, 1993; and Le Baiser Pres Du Lac, sold on October 20, 1993. The artist's philosophy could best be summed up by his own word's: "I believe that painting is not a spectator's exercise. It is more the comportment of a voyeur. To me it is incredibly obvious that it is not a collective approach. Ultimately, it is an exercise in solitude. The all that exists in one gets projected into the canvas. The painter on the one hand and the spectator on the other, who thus becomes a painter himself. I set the table as best I can. The spectator brings what he has, he does it freely. There are no forbidden approaches when one looks at my paintings."

Notable exhibitions

1958: Galerie Hermitage, (Monte Carlo, Monaco)

1959: Galeria Dintel, (Santander, Spain)

1959: Salon des Independants, (Paris, France)

1960: Selectionne au Prix Charles-Pacquement, (Paris, France)

1960: Salon "Les Grands at les Jeunes d'Aujourd'hui", (Paris, France)

1960: Galerie Carlton, (Cannes, France)

1960: Grosvenor Gallery, (London, England)

1960: Belmont Gallery, (Chicago, USA)

1961: Nationale des Beaux-Arts, (Paris, France)

1961: Terres Latines, (Paris, France)

1961: Musee de Sceaux, (Paris, France)

1964: Galerie des Orfevres, (Paris, France)

1965: Musee d'Anneberg, (Denmark)

1967: Musee Galliera, (Paris, France)

1967: University of Wisconsin, (Superior, USA)

1970: Cowie Gallery, (Los Angeles, USA)

1973: Marubeni Gallery, (Tokyo; Hiroshima; Fukuoka, Japan)

Notable works

Paintings

  • Serenade Rouge
  • Tendre Dialogue
  • Les Petits Reins de la Solitude
  • Warm Up
  • Ardente Declaration
  • L'Echoppe aux Fromages
  • Abstracto
  • Le Baiser Pres du Lac
  • Sonatine Bleue
  • Hommage a John Coltrane
  • Le Trac Reconforte
  • Danse Bohemienne
  • Le Trumpette Noir
  • Impudique
  • Erection de la Croix
  • Trio Bucolique
  • Cinq Cuivres
  • L'enfant du Clown
  • Veillee a Gizeh
  • Pierrot et sa Muse
  • Rue Mouffetard
  • Crepuscule au Valion Grassois
  • L'Irruption des Modeles
  • Le Repas des Forains
  • L'Homme au Comptoir
  • L'Otage
  • Bookmaker a la Terrasse
  • Faux Depart
  • Mission Subaquatique a Urghada
  • Jazzmen

Lithographs

  • Serenade Rouge (5th anniversary lithograph)- A limited EDition series of 100 lithographs of Ruolle's Serenade Ruoge created in December of 1963 to honor the 5th anniversary of his first exhibition in 1958. Each lithograph was numbered and autographed by Ruolle. Number 32/100 was designated specifically for his dealer Albergo and presented to him in January of 1964. This example also had an additional handwritten message wishing well to his good friend Albergo and dated 1964.