I consider myself as a “variété” painter, as we call “chanteur de variétés” the one that can sing everything, from Rock to Funk, from Folk to pop songs.
Some beautiful orchestras from Senegal and Congo have this willingness of knowing everything, of playing every repertory the best possible and I love that! That’s what I’m looking for in my work, something easy to assimilate, something popular. I am a “peintre de variétés” I adapt my subject to the technique. I use graphical codes that are very visible in my collages, ma painting and my mounted paper sheets. I adapt my subject to the support.
I do not paint for myself but for those watching. I don’t have a political discourse in my paintings, nor willingness to shock but rather to please. I put into pictures things that people are so used to seeing that they don’t see these things anymore. When I paint record sleeves, those familiar with the bands rediscover the visual and graphic quality of these sleeves through my paintings, while they often listen to the records and frequently have them before the eyes. The same way as with Pop Art, where everyday objects are revisited and given a new look, accentuating their visual and graphic qualities or colors. In the street and market scenes I depict, the colors are contrasted, shapes and colors are stylized.
When you learn to draw, you start with the nude to get a better understanding of the composition, and not so much for mastery or the anatomy. I have a background of graphic designer and, in typography, the white of the letter is as important as the black printed, it is the form and the counter form. The eye circulates and the typography must be pleasant and easy to read or look at. Mastering typography helps me composing my paintings. The painting must be pleasant to read.
