"Drawing with colour. Recreating a space, that of my studio. Doing variations on the same place, the same objects, the same people. Combining motifs, lines, colours. Endlessly. Working on the occupation of space, emptiness, details, the material's sensuality too. Changing our daily environment into a more poetic and stranger universe."So speaks Françoise VADON (website www.francoisevadon.com) whose works are exhibited at Cloitre Saint Louis during the Parcours de l'Art (3-24 October).
I found Vadon's work to be mostly true to her objectives. Her painting may be figurative but it draws us in a world that is definitely her own. Her fascination for the combination of motifs and colours, obvious in her representation of fabrics, clothing, cushions, carpets etc is reminiscent of Matisse. Her research on composition (unpainted parts of the canvas) is also very interesting. I wouldn't say she's mastered it all but I enjoyed her work. And let's say it, among an avalanche of often disappointing abstract works and installations which make you wonder whether abstract is an easy refuge for those who can't draw and have little to say, it's refreshing to see an artist willing to confront the hard reality of figurative painting.
"Dessiner avec la couleur. Recréer un espace, celui de l'atelier. Faire des variations à partir du même lieu, des mêmes objets, des mêmes personnes. Combiner les motifs, les lignes, les coloris. A l'infini. Travailler l'espace, le vide, les détails, la sensualité de la matière. Métamorphoser le quotidien en un univers plus étrange, plus poétique."
Dixit Françoise VADON (site www.francoisevadon.com) dont quelques toiles sont exposés au Cloitre St Louis à l'occasion du Parcours de l'Art (3-24 octobre).
Par rapport aux objectifs exprimés du peintre, beaucoup de choses sonnent juste dans son oeuvre: la création d'un monde étrange bien que très ancré dans le figuratif, le travail sur l'espace et le vide (parties non peintes de la toile), le goût pour le graphisme des motifs (vêtements, tapis, coussins) qui fait souvent penser à Matisse. Tout n'est pas abouti mais j'ai été sensible à ce travail. Et puis soyons francs, face à une avalanche de créations et d'installations si décevantes qu'on se demande si l'abstrait n'est pas le refuge facile de ceux qui ne savent pas dessiner et n'ont pas grand-chose à dire, il est rafraichissant de voir un artiste accepter de se confronter à la cruelle réalité du figuratif.
....any opinion on this?avignon parcours de l'art 2009 avignon parcours de l'art... des avis ?
47 comments:
Ah, I'm the first to offer my thoughts here Nathalie! Well, first off I saw this work and of course thought Matisse. I'm drawn to the color and detail. I have always loved the work of Matisse, and I really like this artist's work. You mentioned abstracts. Since I've not seen what you are referring to I might imagine that it is the type that I've seen and thought a travesty to call it "art". That said, I've tried for many years to leave the more rigid realistic painting and try my hand at abstracts. Ahhhh, I've struggled mightily. Not as easy as it looks. I fear sometimes I am too opinionated about the art I appreciate and that I don't. I try to be openminded but often I'm not! Quelle surprise! :) Regardless, I love the art you show us. Don't stop!
V
I don't know this artist. The style makes me think of a blend of Matisse, David Hockney and Gustav Klimpt. Well captured and shared with all of us.
i too, thought of Matisse - i am liking the wild patterns upon patterns that show in the robes and carpets
i am on a gallery tour miles away from home
lovely
what is truly lovely (and such an honor) is that you became a follower of my wee blog - thank you!
Matisse, Hockney, Klimt, oui.
Je retrouve Soutines aussi.
It may be beautiful, but I can not find it interesting.
Oui, Matisse.
Le bleu, magnifique!
Et cette nonchalence, plénitude de la lumière.
L'Odalisque à la culotte rouge est la première référence qui me saute aux yeux pour la disposition et l'allure générale de ce tableau que, personnellement, je trouve très abouti, bien que la disposition des doigts au bord du lit me laisse songeuse.
Que sait-on sur la technique employée ? acrylique, ou autres ?
En tout cas, dans ce parcours, c'est le jour après la nuit ;-)
Purée ! Comme dirait Marie ! C'est super chouette ! C'est quand même plus beau que les berlingots roses et les sculptures bancales! Enfin, c'est mon avis à moi.
Moi, je suis pour le vrai art, pas celui, comme tu dis si bien dans ton texte qui émane de gens qui finalement n'ont grand chose à montrer.
Yvelinoise, bien vu! Grosse main, grands pieds, est-ce un loup déguisé qui s'est roulé dans le peignoir de la grand-mère et couché dans son lit?
:-)))
Bonjour! Nathalie,
Upon viewing the beautiful paintings by artist Francoise Vadon, I immediately thought of artist Mary Cassett's The Child's Bath (or The Bath)
Nathalie said,"refreshing to see an artist willing to confront the hard reality of figurative painting."
I agree with you...I guess you can say she is the present day...Mary Cassett.
Merci de partager...the link too!
DeeDee ;-D
Cont...
The Child's Bath (or The Bath) is an 1893 oil painting by American artist Mary Cassatt. The subject matter and the overhead perspective were inspired by Japanese woodblocks.[1][2] It shows dignity in motherhood and has a style similar to that of Degas.
The Art Institute of Chicago acquired the piece in 1910. It has since become one of the most popular pieces in the museum.[3]
The Child's Bath (or The Bath)
I think the problem is we can't be at peace until we have everything in a neat category but art as its very nature avoids categorization. Some traditional artists resent computer art that will colour like an oil painting for example and this goes on and on.
Art by its very nature has to be open and flexible and will evolve and we will always have respect for the old and draw on it but all should be explored because it is a means of expression.
I took a course in philosophy and art and the main object of the course was to define art and in the final analysis we realized that art could not be defined!!!
Bravo, Jedaen, bravo !!!
merci Avignon!
Une interrogation ressort de ces deux tableaux : pourquoi ?
J’y vois un peu de Frida Kahlo aussi :un visage de femme, des pieds épais qui dérangent non en relation avec le cou mais avec le visage, un je ne sais quoi de non-conforme. Des espaces vides en nuance qui invitent tout naturellement la palette des lignes et imprimés de petites et grandes tailles. Tout y est représenté : aux clients de choisir.
Des peintures sur lesquelles, sans aucun doute, l’œil et l’esprit s’arrêtent.
Je suis repassée, pour le plaisir de mes yeux.
Well, I have to say I absolutely love this work. I could live with either one on my walls and that's my criteria as to whether I like something or not. Love her use of pattern and colour and the way she places the figures on the canvas - everything so beautifully in balance. For me, she is one talented lady. I wonder what her work costs Nathalie. Do you know? I looked at her website - interesting to see the different ways she has worked over the years. Anyway no prices anywhere.
sur la première peinture, je trouve que la femme a des gros pieds et je me demande donc si c'est "Berthe aux grands pieds"...Je n'aime pas beaucoup, même si la peinture abstraite a rarement mes faveurs, là je ne m'y retrouve pas non plus, sans doute trop de choses, et un coup de pinceau qui ne me convient pas.
Je vous salue bien bas gente dame, je pars...
Jedean I obviously didn't myself clear. You misunderstood me. I LOVE abstract work. I've often felt something deeply fulfilling about it. And I agree with Virginia (first comment above) that abstract is not easy.
BUT.
But in this specific exhibition I saw a number of disappointing works and the same applies to some other abstract works that I saw elsewhere.
And I feel it's easier to get away with poor work in abstract than in figurative.
This is especially true in conceptual art where I sometimes felt the quality of the blurb made up for the poor quality of the artwork itself. My opinion is that to succeed in conceptual art you don't have to be at art, you have to be a good writer.
I believe it's harder to cheat in figurative work. See your comments above? "Her right eye seems shut.She is reclining backwards but she has an awkward stiffness about her.I see problems with her right heel.The dog's eye seems to be bulging out."
You can't make such comments about abstract. That's why I think figurative work is more difficult.
In figurative work you CAN get away with feet too big etc only if the whole painting is so striking that you are drawn into the artist's own world. Otherwise it all falls flat and people start criticising.
AND
AND to me figurative is not about "drawing a tree and making it look exactly like it is. boring boring boring". Figurative is about creating your own world from the existing environment - more dramatic, more poetic, darker, weirder, softer, sweeter etc - to each his own. And that's where figurative is hard. It's not about drawing a tree and making it look exactly like it is, it's about drawing a tree which hasn't ever been drawn before, because it's your own. And I reckon that's bloody hard.
In the end the bottom line is I will never enter into a war of abstract vs. figurative. That's not my point.
I love abstract too much to ever say that.
So I will go along with you:
VIVE L'ART ABSTRAIT !!!
Jedean I'm sure you're right - we would come to agree if given enough time to discuss the terms we use and what they mean to us.
I'm a lover of all art forms - figurative or abstract.
I respect anyone's right to express themselves in any form they like. I have the utmost respect for Sunday painters. Many may produce poor quality work but if they enjoy themselves and find fulfillment in the process, I'm all for it.
(I place myself in that category).
But I get angry with people who pose as artists but who are actually better salespeople than artists. These are the ones I call "frauds" and I believe the art scene is full of them. Unfortunately the art market can mean big bucks and no wonder it attracts people who have little interest in art but a high interest in the money they can make with it. Tell me I'm wrong?
no I just meant that the way one person judges a work another may judge it differently.
and also Nathalie, I have seen a couple of artists in my city sell their work almost through a gimmick! For example one elephant! from our zoo dunks his trunk in a can of paint and sprays the canvas, ha ha and his owner makes 5,000 dollars.
Now Nathalie this elephant is a poseur I would say this is fraud??? ha ha.
and here is another example of what I would classify as a "gimmick" by a human. I don't know this artist personally but he was in the foyer of our library and he was selling his work as "views of the cosmos." and I thought he may have been viewing stellar maps but no he was just sprinkling metallic paints on a peice of paper and it was kind of pretty mais quand même,haha!
well to wrap it up there is a lot of talent at the top also.like Alex Janvier a native abstract artist and it was really funny because one day I was viewing his painting up close and I could see minute images of watermelons etc.and I said this to the sales lady and she seemed somewhat annoyed it seemed to detract from the mystical sweep.
Anyway I can hardly wait for our new art gallery in January it is so funky and world class.In fact I believe one of our first shows will be Matisse!!!!!
ALEX JANVIER-one of our top french native canadian artists.Fine technical skill of details and swirls of acrylic on the canvas and the native plight-the title that enhances the work.He paints to music and you can tell.HIs work is sooooooooooo lyrical.
http://www.alexjanvier.com/index2.htm
under alexjanvier.com
---THe Collector's Gallery----
is the best way to acheive a beautiful overview of this top canadian artist.
Jedaen, thank you so much for the link to Alex Janvier's website. I had never heard of him and I'm so glad you made me discover him. He's a remarkable artist. I strongly encourage my visitors to go and see his work.
Jedaen, merci beaucoup pour le lien vers le site d'Alex Janvier, artiste canadien aborigène. Je n'avais jamais entendu parler de lui, merci de me l'avoir fait découvrir. C'est un artiste remarquable.
So glad you enjoyed him Nathalie!
Merci Nathalie de m'avoir rappelé ce parcours de l'Art. J'ai traîné mes grôles et suis tombée raide dingue de la peinture de Françoise Vadon. je pense aller lui rendre visite dans son atelier à Tarascon ayant eu la chance de pouvoir bavarder un moment avec elle sur sont ravail.
A bientôt ? Claire ABM Avignon
Bonjour à tous,
J'ai trouvé tous ces posts liés à mon travail très intéressants!!!Pour les références: oui à Hockney, Kahlo, Matisse (qui m'a surtout guidé à mes débuts mais l'influence doit forcément rester...) et surtout à Bonnard, Vuillard, Giotto et aux estampes japonaises!!!
Côté technique je prépare mes couleurs avec des pigments et un liant,ou j'utilise des acryliques quand je suis trop pressée!
Ce qui me pousse à peindre c'est comment restituer l'espace qui est devant moi, comment le reconstruire. D'ou ce travail sur le vide. Créer du lien entre le vivant(humain, animal, végétal) et l'inanimé. Les objets de mon quotidien (mon atelier est aussi mon lieu de vie) reviennent tjrs dans mes toiles comme un rituel.
Peindre cet univers intime est pour moi la seule façon que j'ai trouvé de dire l'universel, le rapport des corps au monde, leur fragilité...
Voilà en qqs mots ce que je peux vous dire de mon travail.
En ce qui concerne l'exagération de certaines parties du corps, mais aussi les déformations de la perspective, ceci est fait de façon volontaire pour le décalage, le bizarre...et puis parce que j'en ai envie et que çà fait parler ;-)
Et pour info: le loup caché sous la robe chinoise est un autoportrait!!!
j'avais oublié: la toile bleu qui a fait parler dans le post suivant est de Marie Paule Bilger.
Merci beaucoup Françoise Vadon d'avoir accepté de répondre en tant qu'artiste au tout venant des commentaires de mes lecteurs. J'apprécie beaucoup votre intervention.
Merci beaucoup aussi d'avoir rendu l'anonyme toile bleue du billet suivant à son auteur, c'est important.
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