Exhibition: “An Unusual Encounter”

The exhibition brings together four artists:

ODILE COUDERC
“Certain details drawn in black or white ink on the coloured forms are references to the meticulous stitches used in sewing and embroidery, fields that are particularly close to my heart.
I studied Art History at the École du Louvre. This led me to observe painting and the graphic arts ever more closely. Technique, mastery, vigour and sensitivity move me. As a city dweller, I first came to appreciate nature through works of art. Through my drawings – now in watercolour and ink – I aim to offer a subtle and sensitive interpretation of the plants and seashores that inspire me. It is a way of creating an imaginary world.

VALERIE LARGE
“These seven pastels in the exhibition were born of seven observations, seven emotions, seven moments of the day spent around the Guettoir de Villerville. The wonder of having witnessed a unique, nourishing and evocative spectacle, as if it were speaking to me, telling me stories, imparting lessons about our lives. Back in the studio, I immersed myself in this experience to transcribe it onto paper with my pastels. Nothing is invented.”

NICOLAS CHAMPION
“This exhibition brings together original drawings and limited-edition prints of my illustrations. It is a personal body of work in which words and images collide, like an invitation to take a ‘step aside’.
I’m originally from Normandy, where I spent my childhood and teenage years between the countryside and the sea, with periods of tranquillity and boredom, and others that were livelier, particularly with the arrival of holidaymakers. All these moments were ideal for observation and drawing. That is no doubt why I studied Applied Arts in Paris and went on to become an art director and illustrator.
I create brand identities and communication materials for various brands across a wide range of sectors… This profession, where words and images must make a quick and lasting impression, has sharpened my eye.
This perspective on the world, often an amused one, has enabled me to develop a mode of expression which, by reconstructing a surreal and absurd universe, affords me a space of freedom. In the style of poster artists, using bold colours and simple shapes laden with symbolism, or through black-ink drawings with stark contrasts, I try to convey my impressions and feelings about the world around us with warmth, whilst not shying away from a touch of dark humour.”

PHILIPPE BROSSE
“I’ve never been able to do anything other than paint every day since I was 13. I paint chairs, armchairs, still lifes, landscapes and trees to capture the light produced by the alchemy of colour and paint. I paint to compensate, to work, to understand, to celebrate life, out of a sense of urgency, to be out of step, to avoid telling stories, to avoid writing, to escape the image, to survive in human society, to encounter others, to unravel mysteries, for the sake of the absolute, to touch the other, to reveal the all-too-visible in the invisible.
I depict, I distort, I re-create until the material comes to life, until something happens. I cover, I recoat, I dig – not so that one might see, but so that one might feel. I want my painting to be a stone of life.
I now live and paint in Normandy, in a village perched between the very edge of the forest and the sea.”