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Flag paintings by Alain Balzac (France)

Introduction
Identité, communauté, stabilité (1991)
Drapeau Rouge Vert Blanc (1991)
De la Palestine (1991)
Drapeau (1992)
De la France (1993)
Proposition d'une Exposition exhibition (1995)

See also:

France

Introduction

The plastician Alain Balzac, born in Agen in 1957, lives and works in Paris. Inspired by conceptual and minimalist art, Balzac paintings are usually made of uniformly colored figures arranged in strict geometric patterns. Since he considered painting as a political and social act, he has always been interested in flags, which he has incorporated in several of his works. According to Balzac, the color constituting a flag highlights a specific character of the nation the flag is the emblem of, prompting the viewer to think about its social and historical environment.

Ivan Sache, 26 August 2010

Identité, communauté, stabilité (1991)

In 1991, Balzac painted Identité, communauté, stabilité (acrylic and oil painting, wax on canvas, 150 x 200 cm), which was purchased in 1992 by the Paris Municipal Fund for Contemporary Art. The painting is made of the motto IDENTITE / COMMUNAUTE / STABILITE, derived from the French national motto, painted in big green capital letters covering most of the waxed canvas. A flag horizontally divided yellow-white-black appears in the upper third of the painting, vertically centered.
The painting is shown in the catalogue of the Plurielles 3 exhibition, held in the International Arts City, Paris, 21 September - 1 October 2005

Ivan Sache, 26 August 2010

Drapeau Rouge Vert Blanc (1991)

Flag represented on Drapeau Rouge Vert Blanc - Image by Ivan Sache, 26 August 2010

On 14 April 1991, an auction sales offerred Alain Balzac's Drapeau Rouge Vert Blanc (mixed technique; 57.5 cm x 75 cm) (image). The flag is horizontally divided dark green-white with a red triangle placed along the hoist.

Ivan Sache, 26 August 2010

De la Palestine (1991)

Flag represented on De La Palestine - Image by Ivan Sache, 26 August 2010

In 1991, Balzac painted De la Palestine (oil on canvas; 8 x 49 cm) (image), an elongated version of the Palestinian flag. The flag was sold in an auction held on 12 December 2006.

Ivan Sache, 26 August 2010

Drapeau (1992)

Flag represented on Drapeau - Image by Ivan Sache, 26 August 2010

In 1992, Balzac painted Drapeau (image), a white sheet charged with a flag with proportions 7:5, vertically divided green-yellow-red.

Ivan Sache, 26 August 2010

De la France (1993)

Flag represented on De la France - Image by Ivan Sache, 26 August 2010

In 1993, Balzac painted De la France (acrylic and oil painting). The flag represented on the painting is the French Tricolor flag charged in the middle with the central emblem of the Algerian flag, the red crescent half filled in green and the red star.
The painting is shown in the catalogue of the Utopia ici ou là exhibition, organized in Saint-Ouen, 6 April - 11 June 2009. Placed in room No. 1, Condensation [of different signs in the same space], the painting is described as follows in the exhibition's catalogue:

For Alain Balzac, the painting and the flag are a single piece. The signs are both national symbols and abstract geometric figures. The juxtaposition of elements taken from two flags on the same surface generates a violent concertinaing. Borrowing from the French and Algerian flags, it symbolizes the migrations and their impact of the representations of each other. More than for any other, the meaning of the work will for sure be different according to the viewer's place and time.

Ivan Sache, 26 August 2010

Proposition d'une Exposition exhibition (1995)

In 1995, Balzac exhibited at the Praz-Delavallade gallery, in Paris, a series of paintings showing flags (images).
The view of the exhibition shows the flag of Georgia of the time, on a pink background, hanging on a blue wall, and the flag of Palestine, on a yellowish background, hanging on a wall vertically divided orange-blue. Paintings shown in details are:
- de la Chine (1995, acrylic oils and wax on canvas, 75 x 100 cm). The flag of the People's Republic of China is shown as an orange field with greenish stars, on a red background, hanging on a green wall.
- de la Palestine (1995, acrylic oils and wax on canvas, 75 x 100 cm), as described above.
- de l'Afrique du Sud (1995, acrylic oils and wax on canvas, 75 x 100 cm). The flag of South Africa is shown with the upper stripe and the fimbriation of the black triangle in golden orange. The background is light pink.
Two more paintings are shown, seemingly exhibited earlier:
- de l'Union Soviétique (1995, acrylic oils and oils on canvas, 150 x 200 cm). The flag of Soviet Union is shown black with a dark gold hammer and sickle, on a red background.
- de l'Arabie Saoudite (1995, acrylic oils and oils on canvas, 150 x 200 cm). The true flag of Saudi Arabia is shown on a dark red background.

Ivan Sache, 17 September 2003