15. 15AR MARIA-HELENA VIEIRA DA SILVA (1908-1992) The glass towers 1952 signed and dated 52 oil on canvas signed and dated 52 oil on canvas 73.2 x 60 cm. 28 13/16 x 23 5/8 in. Provenance Galerie Beyeler, Basel Galerie Jeanne Bucher, Paris M. Knoedler & Co, New York Private collection, New York Trocadero Antiguidades, Lisbon Private collection, Portugal Then by descent to the current owner Exhibitions Eindhoven, Stedelijk Van Abbemuseum, Elf Tijdgenoten uit Parijs, 1953 Milwaukee, Art Institute, December 1956 Bibliography Dora Vallier, Vieira da Silva, Paris 1971, p. 118, illustrated in black and white Jacques Lassaigne, Guy Weelen, Vieira da Silva, Paris 1987, p. 181, no. 205, illustrated in black and white Guy Weelen, Jean-François Jaeger, Virginie Duval, Vieira da Silva, Catalogue Raisonné, Geneva 1993, p. 183, n°944, illustrated in black and white Maria Helena Vieira da Silva, an indisputable figure of post-war abstract painting, was recognised as such very early on, thanks to the gallery owner Jeanne Bucher, who was the first to spot the talent of the young painter of Portuguese origin. As a child, driven by loneliness, the artist took refuge in a world of sounds and colours where her imagination could run free. Later, after a so-called "classical" training, she was overwhelmed by Cézanne's painting, and from then on she freed herself from respect for appearance. The artist did not abandon the figurative system, but allowed the subject of her work to emancipate itself from it. Vieira da Silva's landscapes are revealed through the fragmentation of space; the artist is guided by perspective at its freest; curved and straight lines intertwine and clash to evoke, without revealing, the real nature of the subject. Her reflection on space is also central, in order to "manage to suggest an immense space in a small piece of canvas". The glass towers are a marvellous illustration of Vieira da Silva's virtuosity: the play of light, deep and clear, awakens this shimmering cameo of greys; if we let our imagination run wild, we could almost guess a rainy day overlooking an urban landscape, where the light, piercing the clouds after the storm, is reflected on the windows of the glass towers. Exhibited all over the world, Vieira da Silva's work is now part of the collections of some of the world's leading institutions and private foundations, including the MOMA and the Guggenheim in New York, the Centre Pompidou, the Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, the Tate in London and the Fundação Gulbenkian in Lisbon. A leading figure in post-war abstract painting, Maria-Helena Vieira da Silva was recognised very early on, thanks to the Parisian gallery owner Jeanne Bucher, who first spotted the talent of the young painter of Portuguese origin. As a consequence of a childhood filled with loneliness, the artist took refuge in a world of sounds and colours where her imagination was given free rein. Later, after a so-called "classical" training, she was overwhelmed by the work of Cézanne, and from then on, felt liberated from the necessity of realist representation. Though the artist did not abandon the figurative system, she allowed the subject of her work to emancipate itself from it. Vieira da Silva's landscapes are revealed through the fragmentation of space, guided by a loose form of perspective; curved and straight lines intertwine and clash to evoke, without revealing, the real nature of the subject. Her reflection on space is also central, in order to "manage to suggest an immense space on a small piece of canvas". Les tours de verre is a marvellous illustration of Vieira da Silva's virtuosity. The play of light, deep and clear, awakens this shimmering cameo of greys; if we let our imagination run free, we could almost decipher a rainy day overlooking an urban landscape, or the light piercing through the clouds after a storm, reflected upon the windows of glass towers. Exhibited all over the world, Vieira da Silva's works are now part of the collections of some of the world's leading institutions and private foundations, including the MOMA and the Guggenheim in New York, the Centre Pompidou, the Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, the Tate in London and the Gulbenkian in Lisbon.