Conséquence, Sans titre, oil on canvas, 116x79 cm
Raphaël Bouyer is a young visual artist
from Toulouse region, South of France. He is realizing mostly oil paintings,
drawing powerful but disconcerting subjects in a surprisingly realistic way.
The artist is staging natural or unatural disasters, results of an
over-consuming society that has sinking in materialistic consideration, in a timeless
and glorified composition. His canvases are contrasting and materializing the
denunciation of our current mortiferous approach of the world. When you go
through Raphaël Bouyer work, you are exposed to trains that are knocked over,
pipes scattered in natural landscapes, to car accidents, dozens of tires spread
out in the sea, to some ruins of cities lost in waves or to characters in CBN
suits. All representations seem like captured in gorgeous natural frames as if
they were photographs of a unique moment. These combinations appeal to
different imaginaries and excite the curiosity of the audience with their both
surprising and unnatural aspect. Each creation has a very powerful and specific
sense of narration to make the audience aware of the event happening. The
audience is enthralled to imagine the story behind each strange scene and to think
about the poetic aspect of these disasters. His works lead us to dream but also
frighten us about the ambition of a terrible civilization overwhelmed by the magnificent
and all-mighty nature.
Conséquences, Sans titre, oil on canvas,100x82 cm
Conséquences, sans titre, oil on canvas, 50x70 cm
Could you briefly tell us about your
artistic path?
I started painting when I was 16 years old,
I took oil painting lessons with Jeremy Annett in Toulouse for 7 years. I began
to be thrilled by the technic at this very moment – although I have drawn since
my childhood. That’s why I naturally engaged in an applied/plastic art
formation in the Beaux Arts school after having graduated from high school. I
also follow some painting workshops at the Slade summer school of London in
2011. However, I have never been particularly keen on the way art school are
teaching and quickly stayed away from the academic process. I felt my work
deviated from the current trends, so I decided in 2012 to forge my own career
path, learning from diverse documentations to become a professional
painter/artist. This choice was really well received as I won the Toulouse art
competition in February 2013 along with the Golden Palm. It paved the way for
some exhibition opportunities, especially during the same competition the year
after.
Ordinary lives, La chasse au papillon, oil on canvas, 100x100 cm
La partie de pêche, oil on canvas, 130x89 cm
Could you detail the technics you like
working with?
My canvases are all realized with oil
painting and my drawings are composed with pencil and pen on paper.
Hiroshima mon amour,oil on canvas, 92x65cm
I could notice some repetitive topics in
your creations as trains or people in CBN suits, surrounded by nature
background: what are they depicting to you? Furthermore your canvases often
show a post-apocalyptic world: is this a way to warn audience about the global
environmental concern or just a personal appropriation of a specific universe?
I don’t really like the time we are living
in. I always got the feeling to be in this fast-paced environment I can’t
follow and I’m not free to express whatever I want. I feel pretty out of this
system and I trust it is the sensation emanating from my creations. The chosen
setting in my paintings illustrated a world I have fantasized about and
idealized. The enhanced landscapes or the chilled scenarios are constantly in
contrast – even in conflict situation sometimes – with specific patterns that
could evoke about disasters resulting from bad environmental management or
over-consuming behaviors. This confrontation can indeed show a post-apocalyptic
approach but it is for sure resulting from my personal inner conflict.
Ordinary lives, Les jumeaux, oil on canvas, ,100x73 cm
Ordinary lives, Pêche en eaux troubles, oil on canvas, 116x81 cm
How do you chose topics you want to expose?
What is the paradigm you want to pass on the audience?
I chose my themes depending on the news,
for instance trains accidents. I extract them from their actual context and
arrange them in a visual and dynamic way. Even if there is definitely a dark
side in my compositions, I try to bring irony to the subjects by staging the
ludicrous aspects of the situation and highlighting it. I like to think my
creations call out the audience curiosity and make it questioning of what could
have happened. Keeping a part of mystery is important. Of course, one could see
a manner to highlight a societal ecological dimension which kind of reflect my
personal thinking and reflection but I want the spectator to feel free interpretating
my works.
Conséquences,
Sans titre, oil on canvas, 80x80 cm
Conséquences, Sans titre, oil on canvas, 80x80 cm
How does the artistic creation influence
our social behavior according to you?
The art is a form of language, a way to
communicate emotions and I think the art creation is indeed influencing our
social behavior. It provokes questions, a reflection on the world that surround
us and sometimes help to better understand it. I would say the art creation is
steeped in society and the society is steeped in art creation (or at least,
should be considered as such). The artistic creation allows a person to better
understand one self and what is happening around us, the world we live in.
Ordinary lives, La grande déprime, oil on canvas, 80x80 cm
Ordinary lives, La décision, oil on canvas, 100x100 cm
What are the main artists, themes and
trends you take inspiration of?
I don’t really drg my influences by other
artists or at least not that I am aware of. Actually, I don’t really think
about it, the inspiration is here, that’s all. If I have to make reference to
an artist I may particularly like, it would be Romain Bernini, because I am
fascinated by his universe, especially by the color and atmosphere he uses. His
character representation and uncommon staging helped me to build-up the figure
of the men in CBN suits. Of course I also visited lots of museum and saw many
exhibitions of modern and contemporary art, which, I believe could have
influenced my work in a way.
Ordinary lives, La trace, oil on canvas, 72x100 cm
Série l'avatar, Waterworld, oil on canvas, 80x80 cm
Would you like to mention any previous or
in-progress work in particular?
I strongly hope for associations, groups
and communities support and art gallery partnerships to enhance my career in
the near future. I will be exhibiting some of my works in September 2015 and I
keep looking for art galleries that could be interesting as well as I network a
lot within the artistic domain. I also participate in a project called Ardera
which goal is to present on a website my works with an associated-music made by
two friends of mine.
Conséquences, Sans titre, oil on canvas, 100x100 cm
In his paintings, Raphaël Bouyer is
materializing a unique pictural universe where fantasized disasters are
consequences of the underlying loss of balance between culture and nature. The
artist thus creates an intense iconography, pushing for individual reflection
on the world we are living in, leading to a very actual questioning. This
approach directly echoes some of his peers, striking the audience’s eyes by the
aesthetic aspect of his canvases but also thanks to their mysterious and
uncommon side. I would strongly advise the reader to take a look at Raphaël
Bouyer’s website and learn more about his work.
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