Roman Cieslewicz (1930-1996) - Presque Elle · Photomontage surréaliste

Between torn earth and immaculate lace, a surreal apparition rises from the ground like a mythical birth: discover “Presqu’elle,” one of Roman Cieślewicz’s most poetic and troubling works.

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• Artist: Roman Cieślewicz (1930-1996) Poland
• Title: “Presqu’elle”
• Year: 1976
• Style: Surreal photomontage
• Era: 20th century (1970s)
• Technique: Original collage / photomontage on paper
• Collage dimensions: 24 × 19.5 cm
• Framed dimensions: 37.5 × 35 cm (black frame with gold filet + white mat)

• Signature: Signed and dated “R. Cieślewicz 1976” bottom right; title “PRESQU’ELLE” bottom left

• Series: “Changement de Climat” (1976-1977)

• Exhibition: Galerie L’Œil de Bœuf, Paris, 1977

• Provenance: Anne de Clippel Collection, Brussels (original label on the reverse preserved)

Description of the work
“Presqu’elle” (1976) is an exceptional and deeply poetic work by Roman Cieślewicz, a major figure of European photomontage.

In this surreal collage of rare intensity, the artist fragments the female body to have it literally emerge from the earth. Two legs clad in white lace emerge from a torn ground, like a telluric apparition or a mythical birth. Suspended between the mineral and the sky, they embody vulnerability, desire, and mystery. The background, in misty sepia tones, evokes an infinite desert landscape under a heavy sky.

The striking contrast between the delicacy of the lace and the roughness of the earth creates an hypnotic tension, halfway between absurd humor, erotism, and metaphysical enigma.

The title “Presqu’elle” (Presque elle) subtly plays on this ambiguity: almost a woman, almost a human being, almost a landscape… a presence that is both familiar and radically other.

This piece belongs to the emblematic series “Changement de Climat” (1976-1977), one of the artist’s most important productions of the 1970s.

Technique: Original photomontage on paper

Condition: Excellent – colors perfectly preserved. The frame shows rare light wear, with no impact on the artwork itself.

Full biography of Roman Cieślewicz
Roman Cieślewicz (January 13, 1930, Lwów – January 21, 1996, Paris) is one of the greatest European graphic designers and photomontage artists of the 20th century.
Born in Poland (now Ukraine), he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow. After working in Warsaw as art director of the magazine Ty i Ja, he settled in Paris in 1963. He quickly became a key figure on the French scene:

• Art director of the magazine Elle (1965-1969)
• Art director of the M.A.F.I.A. agency
• Collaborations with Vogue, the Centre Pompidou, Libération, etc.
• Became a naturalized French citizen in 1971
• Teaching at ESAG Penninghen and ENSAD
• Member of the International Graphic Alliance

His work, with exceptional visual power, blends photomontage, typography, and surrealism. He creates images that “stay” and that provoke thought. In the 1970s, he notably developed the series Figury Symetryczne and Changement de Climat (1976-1977), to which “Presqu’elle” belongs. He also directed the film Change of Climate in 1979.

He has exhibited in the world’s greatest museums (Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Centre Pompidou, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, MoMA, etc.) and has received numerous international distinctions.

Importance and great interest of this work
“Presqu’elle” is a major piece from the series “Changement de Climat” (1976-1977), regarded as one of the peaks of Cieślewicz’s 1970s production.

This series marks a turning point in his work: the body is fragmented, deconstructed and re-inscribed into a surreal landscape, oscillating between black humor, erotism and poetry. “Presqu’elle” is a perfect example in its pure formal clarity, symbolic strength, and evocative title.

Highlights for a collector:

• Original unique work (not a edition)
• Signed and dated by the artist’s hand
• Belongs to an iconic 1976-1977 series
• Exhibited in 1977 at Galerie L’Œil de Bœuf in Paris (exhibition dedicated to the “Changement de Climat” series)
• Direct provenance from the Anne de Clippel Collection (Brussels), with the original exhibition label preserved on the reverse
• This work, arising directly from the “Changement de Climat” exhibition at Galerie L’Œil de Bœuf in 1977, is among the very rare pieces from the series still in private collections. Most collages shown at that historic exhibition are today held in public institutions (MAD Paris, MAC VAL, etc.).
• Very rare on the market

Collection Anne de Clippel
7, avenue Winston Churchill – 1080 Brussels

Original label on the reverse:
“Changement de Climat – Presqu’elle – Collage”
• name and address of the collection

This label confirms that the work was exhibited within the “Changement de Climat” series.

Exhibition:
Galerie L’Œil de Bœuf, Paris – 1977
Solo or series-focused exhibition on Roman Cieślewicz’s “Changement de Climat, collages.” The work was publicly shown very shortly after its creation (1976), in one of Paris’s active galleries at the time for graphic art and photomontage.