John Harrison Levée

John Harrison Levee (1924-2017)

"Composition"
Watercolor and collage on paper
Signed and dated lower left Excellent condition
Dimensions 27.5 X 20.5 cm cm – framed 42 X 32 cm

About

John Harrison Levée, born in Los Angeles in 1924, American painter who settled in Paris in 1949 after his studies in the United States. A former US Air Force pilot during the Second World War, he exhibited in Paris from 1951 and participated in major international exhibitions and galleries.
His beginnings, marked by gestural painting, evolved towards "hard edge" and geometric abstraction, before opening up to mixed techniques and collages.
In the 1990s, he returned to the freer abstraction of his beginnings. A recognized artist, he is represented in numerous museums in Europe and the United States. Levée lived and worked his entire life in Paris, where he died in 2017.

For this work, a contrasting interplay between large dark areas, here black rectangular shapes, and an intense red background creates dramatic tension.
The bursts, nervous lines, and black graphic signs energize the composition and break the geometric rigor. The use of collage adds materiality and subtle relief, reinforcing the visual depth. Levée unites formal rigor and gestural spontaneity.