Initiated during his residency at the Casa de Velázquez in 1967 and extensively developed during his stay at the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris in 1968, GRATALOUP created a series of major painted reliefs using various transparent plastic materials. Through these works, he explored the relationships between light, transparency, volume, and color, pushing painting beyond the traditional limits of the canvas.

Alongside his friends André Cadere, Olgilvie, Alain Peclard, Joseph Sigrist, and Timi Stewart, he participated in the group exhibition “Six Artists of the Cité Internationale des Arts”, organized by the American Center for Students and Artists in Paris.

Because of their size and the limited space available in his studio at 37 HB, GRATALOUP destroyed many of these highly ambitious works. A few examples, however, including “Painting-Object or Black Object,” were preserved by the artist and later reworked.
Today, very few works from this period have been identified. Some were destroyed by the artist in the 1980s, while others remain in private collections. These surviving pieces are therefore particularly rare testimonies to a pivotal phase in GRATALOUP’s artistic development.

Alongside his friends André Cadere, Olgilvie, Alain Peclard, Joseph Sigrist, and Timi Stewart, he took part in the group exhibition “Six Artists of the Cité Internationale des Arts”, organized by the American Center for Students and Artists in Paris. This exhibition highlighted the creative vitality of a generation of artists engaged in experimenting with new forms and materials.