Composition 1955

Roger Bissière made this "Composition" sometime before 1964 with what looks like oil on canvas. The way he’s laid down these marks, it’s like watching a garden grow – a little here, a little there, no grand plan, just an openness to where it might go. And look at the surface! It’s not about hiding the process. You can almost feel the bristles of the brush, the push and pull of the paint. There’s a dark, almost void-like square near the top, surrounded by softer greens, pinks and reds. It’s unsettling, but then your eye is drawn to the brighter blues and reds which lift the whole painting, giving it a playful, hopeful feel. That dark patch reminds us that in every garden, there are shadows too. I see echoes of Paul Klee in Bissière's work, that same whimsical approach to abstraction, a kind of visual poetry. It's like Bissière is inviting us to wander through his own private world, a space where nothing is fixed, and everything is open to interpretation.