Ab7#11 - Variations 1 — Acrylic on Paper by Arnaud Quercy

About This Artwork

This painting translates a single musical chord into color. Arnaud Quercy takes the Ab7#11 dominant seventh sharp eleven chord — built from the notes Ab0, Ab2, C3, D4, and D5 — and maps each pitch to a distinct color zone on the surface. The structural basis comes from piano studies and cycle of fifths mapping. This work opens the Ab7#11 series within the Harmonic Crossing collection, which uses harmonic relationships from music theory as its organizing principle.

Warm tan and rosy brown tones fill most of the surface, spreading across broad rectangular fields that anchor the composition. A middle range of muted, sandy tones adds further warmth across substantial areas. Near-black and deep dark gray appear in strong vertical and horizontal bands, cutting through the warmer zones with clear edges. Burnt sienna and firebrick red-orange provide concentrated color in the upper-center section, shifting from a cooler red toward a more orange-red across two adjacent blocks. A muted gray-blue rectangle sits to the right of center, offering the only cool note in an otherwise warm palette. The composition uses flat, bounded geometric forms with visible outline drawing. Acrylic on paper, the surface shows fine canvas-like texture from the paper grain.

The work measures 21 × 21 cm and weighs 0.1 kg. It was created on 2 October 2026 at the Rue du Dragon studio in Paris. It carries certificate number 20261002-0180. The painting was first shown publicly at Les Portes du Dragon, the open studio event at Art Quam Anima, Paris, from 2 to 4 October 2026. It is currently available.