Artist's workshop

It is said that one of the first artists to have worked in series would be Claude Monet with his famous series on nympheas. In any case, I found this statement at an exhibition in Giverny, dedicated to Monet and Rothko. I think, however, that a number of counter-examples can be found; I am thinking, for example, of 36 views of Mount Fuji by Hokusai. It's a little curious as a statement, knowing that Monet was himself quite admirer of Hokusai — but not just from him —, Japanese prints in general. Besides, when visiting his home in Giverny, there are many examples.

Why do artists work in series?

In general, it is to be interested in a given subject, a given problem. At Monet, the subject is nympheas; At Hokusai, it's Mount Fuji. I am no exception to this rule: for my part, it is the study of a new material.

The series, therefore, is a collection of works crossed by the same subject. It's exactly the same in music: We call it an album. In an album, you can feel that there is a common unit to all tracks, something that brings them together. This indicates an important character of the series: the concept of coherence. All works in a series are consistent with each other, in any case from an aesthetic point of view.

Selection

Moreover, when I constituted the series LuminotypeI put away the paintings that were too far away from that unit that I had in mind. Sometimes the concern lay in the outcome of the work in question. It may also be that the canvas in question was too different and was worth its own series. — in the sense that its singularity could constitute a series in its own right.

I like this notion of series because it gives a framework, allows to target a given question, and requires to create an aesthetic at the service of our object of study. This leads to a formal reflection on how to design, assemble and articulate the elements that form our series.

I told you here about the vision of the creator, of the artist. On the viewer's side, consistency should be imposed on itself: the series, in order to exist fully, must be perceptible as such without any need to explain it.

The constraint is fertile

In any case, it is certain that the constraint in which we place ourselves is a motor of creativity. The constraint is fertile. Somehow, it is the tightening that opens. To reformulate, I will ask the following question: by respecting the constraints imposed on us, how can we invent, decline, enlighten, nourish, deepen our subject and bring it the necessary light?

Video

I am pleased to present the series Luminotype conducted in June 2025. This series has a particular specificity. In the following paragraphs, I further develop the choice of a transparent painting medium.

Luminotype I – acrylic, PVC, paper – 2025 – 80×60 cm – © Adagp

The peculiarity of the series Luminotype is the choice of medium to paint. Traditionally, we paint on canvases of cotton or linen, on paper or on wood. I had the opportunity to experiment with all these materials and appreciate their respective qualities.

Fabrics & paper____

The fabrics, for example, reveal in the final canvas the weaving weft. The canvas has a grain that gives the paint a very pleasant physical and tactile presence. We want to touch the support. Also a detail that is not one, a very thin frame sffaced in the final rendering while a coarser frame will probably be perceived by the spectator.

Paper also has a wide variety of textures and grains because of its wide variety of manufacturing and raw materials. The paper medium also invites touch or interaction with its surface. There is an infinity of papers from the most artisanal to the 90g/m2 industrial paper ramette that everyone knows.

However, with my use, a common point brings together all these media: their relative opacity. This feature is particularly found in the dark tones. Appears as a phenomenon that "closes" the surface, which makes it denser, harder. It is precisely this opacity that led me to explore other ways.

A more dynamic subjectile___

So logical thinking is how to find a support that is more versatile? My attention has focused on a more dynamic subjectile, capable of interacting differently with light and color. Of course, this reflection was directed towards transparent materials, and in particular towards transparent canvas. This represents the advantage of being able to be stretched on a chassis, like a traditional canvas. The final paint retains a volume presence that I find interesting and even almost necessary.

The first obvious observation is that one is on a bright surface, it is certainly a hell to be taken in pictures but there are new advantages: in particular with the way the light circulates through the surface: it crosses it, reflects on it, diffuses it. The association with acrylic paint, which also has translucent properties, creates colorful vibrations of great richness, especially with the blue pigments overseas.

In the series Luminotype, I work in monoton, i.e. starting from a given color: here the overseas blue. I start with this color in its highest concentration and then work around this tone producing a partial gradient, a range of shades that spreads around the selected shade.

In any case, by showing the result to colleagues, the rendering was appreciated.

As a conclusion and to broaden the subject a little, I felt that this technique opens a lot of doors. I've got plenty of ideas for the future. So to follow...

Video