Maurice (xxth) V : "the Octopus Man 1971"

Maurice (XXth) V : “The octopus man 1971”, mixed technique on paper 50 X 65 cm Peripheral gaps and skin sores. A boy in a cap watches an octopus man whose tentacles protrude from the breastbone. A couch is at the center of the composition inhabited by dreamlike silhouettes and overloaded with an enormous black spot… Ooh-there! As a friend would say, this one, he was not alone in his head! When we saw this lot on one of the southern unboxes it was split in two and we bought nine while a London gallery stole four from us! Well, it was almost without seeing them and you had to be a little crazy to acquire them while the paper, cooked by oil, was extremely brittle and with peripheral lacks, but the little that we had seen was motivating! On the border between surrealism and Art-Brut, it would not have been disowned by André Breton or Dubuffet. I did not find anything on the Artist, but it is possible that he was interned and that these paintings participated in his therapy… Information welcome! In agreement with the restorer, we had them neutralized, filled in the gaps and doubled Japanese paper in order to be able to handle them, but we chose not to do the repainting. Do not hesitate to ask us for photos or additional information by email or phone. Other photos and many other objects in our stores in Pau and Biarritz and on our website: galerielhoste.com.