Karel Appel, Un geste de couleur / Karel Appel, A Gesture of Colour

Epilogue by Christine Buci-Glucksmann

Karel Appel. A Gesture of Colour is the first of a series of six volumes, bringing together the most important writings of Jean-François Lyotard (1924 - 1998) on contemporary art and artists. The book he devoted to the art of Karel Appel (1921 - 2006) is doubtlessly one of the most complete and inspired texts of all the writings included in the series. Neither the original French manuscript nor the English translation have ever been published, and their presentation face to face should constitute a considerable plus.

In this book, Lyotard presents Karel Appel's "matterism" as an offer of presence, presence deferred - it is the visual where every predicate is suspended, the visual touched, "gesture" of colour more than property of colour, appearance at the edge of the abyss. Christine Buci-Glucksmann's epilogue indicates the position of Karel Appel. A Gesture of Colour within the whole of Lyotard's writings on art, considering equally the philosopher's subsequent work.

Winner of the Plantin Moretus Prize 2010 for the best designed book in the category textbooks and academic publications