pierre marie brisson catalog, "fil d'ariane," 2010

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b r i s s o np i e r r e m a r i e

FRANKLIN BOWLES GALLERIES

PIERRE MARIE BRISSON

Fall 2010 catalog

60 pages

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pierre marie brisson

FIL D’ARIADNE

FRANKLIN BOWLES GALLERIESs a n f r a n c i s c o / n e w y o r k

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Left: D�claration dÕAmour (detail) — see page 33

any of the works in this catalog were recently shown at the Musée Faure in Aix-les-Bains, France. The curator of theexhibition, André Liatard, asked Pierre Marie to select works from the museum’s superb permanent collection and

then do variations on those works. Liatard was thrilled with the result noting that Brisson “let his imagination run throughhis brush…a dangerous adventure, but how exhilarating it is!”

This process of using as inspiration the works in the museum’s collection was revealing in many ways. First, there was thechoice of art from amongst a large distinguished collection left to the museum by Dr. Faure, and then there was the inter-pretation. In an essay in the catalog, the critic Frédérique Martiningo wrote – as if to the artist himself:

“A real dialogue is then established between your chosen painting,your sensitivity and your vision, without there being any notion ofconfrontation with the master. From this new series of paintings,many things emerge: the sense of respect which drives you, your pro-found determination to allow your creation a free rein without anyconstraints, and the sense of a guiding thread which hall marks thevery distinctive atmosphere emanating from your work.

“How can one describe this atmosphere? It is a skilful mix ofmoments captured in slow motion; of characters both absent andinhabited by an intense inner life; of padded movement; of apalette of silent colors which awaken bright spots of color; of acertain preciosity – even though your technique of ripping thebackground paper is sometimes brutal; and, finally, you weavethe threads together to create this atmosphere full of grace, uni-versality and timelessness.”

The series of works also raised the interesting issue of an artist’s source of inspiration and homage; while often uncon-scious, in this exhibition both are clear cut and yet are still only the starting point for interpretation. Liatard noted, in thepreface to the catalog which accompanied the show:

“At a time when certain exhibitions show confrontation – ‘Picasso and Masters’ – the [show] at the Faure museum doesnot deal with ‘Brisson and Impressionism’ but rather with an original and specific work, that is also thematic and pre-cise. It is the work of a free artist, free from any artistic current. Although it is a hackneyed expression, this may be theexhibition of [Brisson’s] pictorial maturity.

“In spite of the ‘rough’ aspect of his painting, Pierre Marie Brisson's art is full of nuances and subtlety. It conveys an ‘outof time’ ambience, as if ‘in a magic space…’ Just like a half-erased fresco from Pompeii, there is a deep feeling of bothpleasure and nostalgia.”

In April, I had the distinct pleasure of viewing this exhibition in France with both the curator and artist. And I stronglyagree with André Liatard that Pierre Marie’s new paintings reveal an astonishing level of insight and maturity. We hopethat all of our collectors will share our appreciation and enjoyment when viewing this new collection.

Franklin Bowles, Pierre Marie, Pam Walsh and Andr�Liatard, curator of the exhibition.

M

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Since the dawning of Time, of Man – the thread of life. The breath of art,transforming reality to extract an essence, another language. The existence ofhis art is the result of heritage and of complicity with the past rather than anysense of surpassing it or laying claim to it in any way. It is a gift. A fascinat-ing story of art, of giving beyond time and place. The works of Pierre MarieBrisson speak perhaps of that: of Time; of Man; of his fleeting appearance upuntil his brief disappearance and, within this fragile world, of the endless flowof emotions which power the ever-turning wheel of ideas.

The past is naturally inscribed in his paintings. Pierre Marie Brisson is pro-foundly aware of the debt he owes to certain painters who have bequeathedso much to him. Yet there is no point in seeking the traces of this or thatMaster in his work for they are completely integrated in his paintings. Theyare there without being there. And when he immerses himself in the creationof variations on works such as Bonnard's L'Ecuyère or Francesco Hayez's Labaigneuse dans un paysage in the Musée Faure collection in Aix les Bains, a fas-

cinating alchemy takes place. Beyond his implied reference to these works, we

witness a distortion of time in the paintings of Pierre Marie Brisson; for whilehis work is obviously later in time, his paintings could almost be said to pre-

cede them. He seizes on the idea of the horse, the idea of the movement of

the circus rider, the very essence of balance, or archaic gestures. Everything

other than that is secondary and has disappeared into the background limbo,itself full of life. Of the circus ring and the spectators, we see only what the

eye could possibly capture intermittently, while focused on the central sub-ject: fleeting lights, hypnotic colors. The three frames cleverly superimposedreinforce the perspective and underline the cultural form of the classical can-vas and thereby manage to both draw the eye towards the center whilst dis-

tancing it intellectually into the abstraction of dreamlike margins.

As for Hayez's Baigneuse – the original of which is pinned with good humorin the distant background of the first variation – the truncated frame under-lines the sensual nonchalance of a ghostly woman who incarnates the lasting

quality of a posture, a state of grace. The spots of color suggest that some-thing else is in the making, perhaps already gestating in the marginal friezewhich opens the space towards another world beyond the painting, or which

finds life in the second version, so beautiful in its liquid omnipresence.

The exhibition poster.

The village of Aix-les-Bains, France.

A R I A D N E o r t h e l a by r i n t h o f emo t i on s

A day dawned. And then a night. There was the hazardous wanderings of a hand over the earth. The emergence of form;the discovery of colors and their fusion under the gentle touch of fingers, skimming over rock.

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Thus, the person who contemplates and analyses the paintings can perceive a filiation, an almost supernatural presencenext to the highly persuasive and unique voice of the living painter. Life, always: a heritage of movement, situations,feelings and imagined murmurs: the soul of humanity, almost palpable in its evanescence…The art of suggestion, the

art of paradox too, because this revelation which speaks so clearly to our collective unconscious in all its subtlety andnuances, bursts forth from the raw matter like a telluric force. The painting is mineral through its rough, worked-atstructure - so much so that one longs to touch it, stroke it. The tactile pleasure of the parchment made old, the faded,scratched-out colors. The eye almost searches for flakes of paint on the ground, for sand grains or dust particles, to thenfollow the lines of fracture, the spines, the holes, the tears. The confinement of these squared centimeters pushes one

into abstraction. For they have their own reason for being,generating visual outlets: they fascinate like the details of thisor that masterpiece. The colors, sometimes faded, sometimesstrong, also relate to this dynamic through their geometricdelimitation. They provide the set for exploring the depths,as if these deep blues or shaded reds, for example, had a lifeof their own whilst also being in resonance with other detailsof the canvas, which they proudly juxtapose or contaminatethrough their streaking. A protean work, secreting its ownregeneration, its own permanent transmutation. A celestialto-ing and fro-ing, full of subtle echoes.

And then, the gaze returns to the whole, to the power whichemanates from the whole. Rarely has painting been so freefrom the limits of its own frame. A window opens onto ascene, a detail, a plant; sometimes a landscape or a silhou-ette. But no sooner has the object of observation been sug-

gested, then it runs free. Most often, it is fragmented or incomplete thereby calling upon our imagination. A begin-ning or an end? An apparition or a vanishing? It is of little importance. The canvas liberates itself, and opens space.The mind completes the truncated gesture, turns towards what the characters are looking at, fills in the gaps with-

out ever being certain of the solution to the enigma. A work of art is enigmatic, it admonishes, it endangers, it post-pones. A work of art opens and closes at the same time, thereby creating dramatic tension.

In Pierre-Marie Brisson's work, figuration extracts transitory pieces of life or people, creating a jigsaw puzzle of the

imaginary where the awakened dead seem to converse with the portrayed present. These figures possess a rare grace, adelicate reserve which renders them fragile and contrasts with the rusticity of the backgrounds. Yet, there is no real,apparent opposition since we can never tell what comes first. Moments of eternity, so simple, so beautiful, almost naive

which awaken us to crystalline moments of presence.

So, from this precarious balance between the present and the absent, between life and death, time suspended revealsthe infinite dimension of an emotion to us, a universal truth held by just one thread.

MA RC LE PA PE

Marc Lepape is a professor and author whose first novel, Vasilsca, won the prestigious Prix Emmanuel-Roblès.

Pierre Marie with Edgar DegasÕ sculpture, Danseuse I

EDGAR DEGASDanseuse I (left) / Danseuse II (right)

Collection of Mus�e Faure

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Situation II2009

mixed media on canvas 47Ó x 47Ó

L’Alcôve I2010


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LeftVisite d'Impression I

2010mixed media on canvas 36Ó x 28Ó

AboveImpression IV2010mixed media on canvas 39Ó x 39Ó

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Architecture I2010


Douceur2010


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Danse d'après Degas III2009


EDGAR DEGASLes danseuses mauves

Collection of Mu�ee Faure

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Danse d'après Degas I2009


Souvenir d’un Temps2010

mixed media on canvas 39Ó x 31.5Ó

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BottomClose up2010mixed media on canvas 28Ó x 36Ó

TopEtudes I

2010mixed media on canvas 19.5Ó x 19.5Ó

Danse d'apres Degas V2010


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Impression II2010


Danse d'après Degas II2009


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HENRI FANTIN-LATOURNymphe lutin�e par des amours, 1898


Les Anges passent I2009


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Brisson's art is full of nuances and subtlety. It conveys an “out of time” ambience, as if"in a magic space…" Just like a half-erased fresco from Pompeii, there is a deep feel-ing of both pleasure and nostalgia.

– Frédérique MartiningoArt Critic

Les Anges passent II2009


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J. J. HENNERNymphe pr�s d’une sourceCollection of Mus�e Faure

La Nymphe endormie2010

mixed media on canvas 58.5Ó x 58.5Ó

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FRANÇOIS GÉRARDLa d�claration


La Nymphe2009


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RightLa Déclaration2010mixed media on canvas 45Ó x 35Ó

AboveL’Alcôve III


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Déclaration d'Amour2009


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Invitation2010


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Les Amies2009


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TSUGUHARU (LÉONARD) FOUJITALes deux amies


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L’Alcôve II2010


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Etudes III2010


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Essai d'Amitié2009


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Impression V2010


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Dévoilement2009


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TSUGUHARU (LÉONARD) FOUJITANu, 1923


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Femme Fantôme2010

mixed media on canvas 31 x 31Ó

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Femme en Double2010


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CHARLES COTTETNu � sa toilette


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Impression III2010


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Derrière la Porte2009


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Impression I2010


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Déclinaison I2010


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Etudes II2010


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Petit Hommage à Bonnard2009


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PIERRE BONNARDL’�cuy�re, 1897


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FRANCESCO HAYEZJeune femme pr�s d’un perron, 1840


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L'Ecuyére2010


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RightVisite d'Impression III2010mixed media on canvas 36Ó x 28Ó

AboveSortie de Bain I


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Sortie de Bain II2009


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Douceur d'un Matin2010


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Architecture IClose upDanse d’apr�s Degas I Danse d’apr�s Degas II Danse d’apr�s Degas III Danse d’apr�s Degas VD�clinaison ID�c laration d’AmourDerri�re la Por teD � voilementDouceurDouceur d’un MatinEssai d’Amiti�Etudes IEtudes IIEtudes IIIFemme en DoubleFemme Fant�meImpression IImpression IIImpression IIIImpression IVImpression VInvitationLa D�clarationLa NympheLa Nymphe endormieL ’Alc �ve IL ’A lc �ve IIL ’A lc �ve IIIL ’Ecuy�reLes AmiesLes Anges passent ILes Anges passent IIPetit Hommage � BonnardSituation IISor tie de Bain ISor tie de Bain IISouvenir d’un TempsVisite d’Impression IVisite d’Impression III

I N D E X

Left: Danse d’apr�s Degas V (detail) — see page 18

13191720151849334741125639194836424346214411383231282783730523523245195457161055

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PROJECT COORDINATORS: Stacey Bellis / Matt GearyPHOTOGRAPHY: Pierre Schwartz / CATALOG DESIGN: D. Lee Myers

Back cover: Sortie de Bain II (detail) – see page 62

F A L L 2 0 1 0

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FRANKLIN BOWLES GALLERIES

PIERRE MARIE BRISSON

Fall 2010 catalog

60 pages

pierre marie brisson catalog, "fil d'ariane," 2010

Documents

b r i s s o np i e r

asked pierre marie

pierre marie brissons

andr liatard

free artist

n c i s c o n e w y

pierre maries new paintings

museums collection