Jean-Paul Kahn was a collector from a young age. At 16, he began acquiring artworks and quickly developed a passion for surrealism, becoming an esteemed connoisseur envied by many. Not confining himself to national considerations, he soon recognized the global significance of this artistic movement. He invested in the most remote regions where surrealist artistic endeavors, or at least those closely related to this trend, were expressed.
Art became a passion shared by his wife, Geneviève Kahn, with whom he spent 50 years of his life. They were not just enthusiasts but true scholars and researchers of pieces possessing both historical and aesthetic dimensions.
This is why the collection offered through this auction includes works by artists of various nationalities. These works were chosen with historical rigor, as evidenced by their creation dates, and with an undeniable aesthetic approach.
Art history has been built upon movements formed around specific ideas at particular moments. Collecting stems from an intellectual process that prioritizes the historical importance of a composition over personal appreciation. It is within this framework that Geneviève and Jean-Paul Kahn assembled their collection, based on both literature and graphic arts.
Included in this auction are intriguing pieces such as a collage by Hans Arp from 1916-1917, a composition by Jacques Hérold from 1931, just arrived in Paris, a drawing by Jackson Pollock from 1944, and works by Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, or Robert Indiana from the 1960s.
Each offered piece closely ties essential facts of the artist's history to that of the movement. It's fascinating to compare a work by Greek artist Mario Prassinos from 1934-1935 with one by Pierre Roy from the same year, or those of Esteban Francés and Remedios Varo, both immensely talented Spanish artists. The juxtaposition of these different approaches enlightens our understanding of the subject, striking us with both the relevance and contemporaneity of the style.
Roy Lichtenstein (New York, 1923 - New York, 1997)
Hot Dog Tray #1, 1964
Estimate: 200000 / 300000 €
Finally, considering the works of Tom Wesselmann or Claes Oldenburg alongside those of Ivan Tovar and Pierre Molinier raises an essential question: Could Pop Art be the natural offspring of surrealism?
This is one of the propositions offered by the Geneviève and Jean-Paul Kahn collection, to be auctioned by PIASA on 5 June 2024.
Fabien Béjean-Leibenson
