Rating and value of works, drawings, paintings by Ladislas Kijno

If you own a work by or after the artist Ladislas Kijno, and would like to know its value, our state-approved experts and auctioneers will offer you their appraisal services. Our specialists will carry out a free appraisal of your work, and provide you with a precise estimate of its current market value. Then, if you wish to sell your work, we'll guide you towards the best possible arrangement to obtain the optimum price.

Rating and value of the artist Ladislas Kijno

A key figure in informal art, Ladislas Kijno is a prodigious 20th-century painter whose reputation is based on his paintings, watercolor drawings, prints and even a few sculptures and tapestries. For almost forty years, his works have been auctioned for between €30 and €90,000, a substantial delta but one that speaks volumes about the value that can be attributed to the artist's works. One of his paintings, entitled "hommage à Debussy", depicting pink interlacing geometric shapes on a gray background, sold for €7,500 in 2022.

Order of value from a simple work to the most prestigious

Style and technique of the artist Ladislas Kijno

Kijno was soon attracted by the plastic interest of ovoid and spherical forms. According to him, "the universe develops in a curved way"; he tends towards structured compositions, using relatively neutral colors. Using an airbrush and an inked brush, he employed glycerophtalic paints and became a master of "crumpling", a technique he perfected in 1956, exploring the dynamic opposition between smooth and crumpled structures.

The life of Ladislas Kijno

Born in Warsaw in 1921, Ladislas Kijno became a naturalized French citizen shortly after his parents emigrated to France in 1925. His early years were marked by painting, and with his unrivalled maturity and observant eye, he drew everything around him. In 1938, he began studying philosophy in Lille, and later attended Germaine Richier's studio. He took part in his first exhibition in 1943 on the theme of Chess Games, and settled permanently in Paris in the late 1950s. Over the years, Kijno developed his crumpling technique and established himself on the art scene.

In 1949, his artistic career took a major turn with the creation of a work entitled The Last Supper for the crypt of the Assy church. This unprecedented experience turned him towards the sacred, the spiritual, demiurgy and a taste for magical consonance. In his metaphysical and spiritual impulse, Kijno took a particular interest in the magical rites of various civilizations, especially those described as "primitive". Like Tàpies, he practiced "mental speleology", i.e., using primitive human forms in motion to imagine another world. He sees painting as "a priesthood" that encourages and enables people to explore the intricacies of the universe in which he lives. And it is on a small, two-dimensional surface such as canvas that the result of this transcendent experience must be transcribed.

Kijno's imprint on his period

In 1956, Kijno exhibited at the Galerie Kamer in Paris, where he made friends with Picasso, Hans Hartung, Alberto Magnelli, Roger Vivier, Audiberti, Sonia Delaunay and many others. Later, Kijno took up graffiti, covering a few walls in the Latin Quarter, and exhibited in numerous galleries, including in the United States, revealing the importance and aura that emanated from his canvases. He was considered a committed artist from the moment he took part in the Journées des intellectuels pour le Vietnam (Days of Intellectuals for Vietnam) in 1968, in homage to the people suffering the exactions of the American army, and also when he paid tribute to Angela Davis. He has never ceased to weave a synergy between his artistic career and that of poets (essentially Surrealists) such as Tristan Tzara and Louis Aragon.

Ladislas Kijno died on November 27, 2012 in Saint Germain en Laye.

Recognizing the artist's signature

Kijno simply signs his canvases with his name in childlike handwriting at the bottom.

Knowing the value of a work

If you happen to own a work by Ladislas Kijno, don't hesitate to request a free appraisal using the form on our website. A member of our team will contact you promptly with an estimate of the value of your work, and will provide you with all the relevant information. If you're thinking of selling your work, our specialists will also be on hand to help you find alternatives for selling it at the best possible price.