Bernard Quentin The Passage of Time hand-tufted wool art tapestry France 1998

This monumental 170 × 248 cm interpretation of The Passage of Time by Bernard Quentin (1923–2020), a key figure in post-war French semiotic and scriptural art, was produced by the Swiss textile atelier TISCA, known for collaborations with artists and cultural institutions. Rather than decorative rugs, TISCA specialized in architectural and art textiles, making this a true hybrid between fine art and spatial installation. The surface features fragmented inscriptions of 'LE PASSAGE DU TEMPS' in grey and black, evoking the instability and irreversibility of time, with a bold red gesture symbolizing urgency and temporal fracture. The artwork is signed by Bernard Quentin, dated 1998, and is edition 3 of a very small edition of 8. The reverse bears the original TISCA label confirming provenance. Textile works of this scale are rare in Quentin’s oeuvre, which is mainly paintings, bronzes, and reliefs. Bernard Quentin was a singular figure in the French postwar avant-garde, exploring the relationship between signs, writing, and visual language, with works in major collections such as the Centre Pompidou and MoMA.