Attributed to Nasser Assar, Abstract Oil on Wood Panel, Signed and Dated 2004

The Piece

A dark, gestural form rises against a warm, earth-toned ground on this upright wood panel. The central shape reads as both organic and calligraphic, part branch, part written sign, laid on with weight and deliberation in charcoal black over layered browns. Small touches of red punctuate the surface, and visible brushwork sweeps across the ground beneath.

The rigid panel gives the painting a grounded, physical presence, and the contrast between the black form and the textured underlayer holds the eye from across a room.

History & Provenance

The panel is inscribed lower right N ASSAR 2004, the letters and date scratched into the paint, and it is attributed to the Iranian-French painter Nasser Assar (1928–2011). Born in Tehran, Assar studied at the Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of Tehran from 1950 to 1953, where he became a friend of the poet and painter Sohrab Sepehri, and settled in Paris in 1953. His first solo exhibition was held at Galerie Prismes, Paris, in 1955, and he showed at the Salon des Réalités Nouvelles in 1958 and 1959.

Encountering Chinese painting at the Musée Cernuschi in 1958 and 1959 transformed his work, which he came to think of as painting non-figurative signs with the energy of calligraphy. He exhibited at the Lincoln Gallery, London, in 1961 and 1962 with a preface by Herbert Read, and formed a lasting friendship with the poet Yves Bonnefoy. From 1967 his signs took root as branches, trees, rocks and hills painted from nature in the south of France. The Centre Pompidou holds his 1961 ink wash Composition. He died in Paris in 2011.

This panel is not yet recorded in the artist's catalogue raisonné, and its signature, with a full four-digit year, differs from the two-digit form usual in his catalogued work, so it is offered as attributed to Nasser Assar rather than as a documented work. Nasser Assar artist page.

Product Details

Why It Belongs in Your Home

This is abstraction with gravity. The dark, calligraphic form and warm ground bring quiet intensity to a study, a reading room or a minimal living space, and the upright format suits a narrow wall, a stair landing or the space beside a doorway. Pair it with stone, raw linen, dark wood or aged leather and let it hold the room on its own.

To care for it, hang it out of direct sun and away from heat sources and humidity. Dust the frame with a soft, dry brush, and leave any cleaning of the painted surface to a conservator.