Abstraction is a Colour — Musée du Niel — 1 May to 1 November 2026

In 2026, the Musée du Niel presents a new interpretation of its collection, shaped by the themes of colour and abstraction.

Following its 2023 exploration of the collection’s origins through Jean Grenier’s Entretiens avec 17 peintres non figuratifs, its 2024 dialogue between two avant-garde movements — the Nouvelle École de Paris and Supports/Surfaces — and its 2025 focus on Dubuffet et les magiciens from a more figurative perspective, the museum now invites visitors, in 2026, to immerse themselves in abstract expression through the lens of colour with the exhibition Abstraction is a Colour.

This exhibition examines the complex relationships that developed in the second half of the twentieth century between abstraction and colour. Far from being self-evident, their association initially emerged through tension, even confrontation. In the post-war period, colour struggled to assert itself within an abstract language marked by chromatic restraint: dominated by black, white and grey, the aesthetic landscape often proved resistant to vivid colour.

Towards an “abstraction of colour”

Some artists, however, succeeded in affirming the power of colour. Jean Dewasne imposed it through geometric rigour, while Georges Mathieu, Gérard Schneider, Serge Poliakoff and Hans Hartung explored its lyrical dimension. Simon Hantaï, for his part, made colour a structuring principle — a central element of the work. Today, Fabienne Verdier continues this pursuit with renewed intensity.

Among these approaches, a rare work by CHU Teh-Chun, 15.12.1975 (1975), will be given particular prominence, exemplifying the expressive force and chromatic depth that characterise this line of enquiry.

Across the Atlantic, artists drawing on the legacy of Matisse placed colour at the heart of their abstract practice, helping to reinvent the pictorial medium. Notable examples include Shirley Jaffe, Sam Francis, Kimber Smith and James Bishop.

From these tensions, resistances and transatlantic exchanges, a new sensibility emerges. At times radiant, at others subdued, it gives rise to a true pictorial language that might be described as an “abstraction of colour”.

For further information about the exhibition: Musée du Niel, Hyères

Image: CHU Teh-Chun, 15.12.1975, 1975, oil on canvas, 65 × 81 cm © Adagp, Paris 2026 – Private collection. Photograph © M. Prier