Serge Charchoune: “The Early Years”

Serge Charchoune, Cubisme ornamental, 1920, oil on canvas, 15.4 x 10.6 inches

An Ascetic Aesthete in the Shadow of the Invisible

Although Charchoune is said to have been introverted and reclusive, perhaps even misanthropic, we nevertheless find him in the middle of many avant-garde circles in Paris, Barcelona, and Berlin. Despite the social synergy Charchoune seemed to manifest, he still managed to remain at the periphery of each movment, as though seeking to maintain one foot in the invisible world of his interiority at all times, that realm deep within himself which he needed to return to in order to render visible the experience of his inner sanctum. Despite his involvement in many avant-garde groups, Charchoune understood the value of remaining in the shadow of the invisible, a space providing him limitless creative freedom.

By Deborah Zafman, Ph.D.

Exhibition catalog published by Rosenberg & Co., 2023