ASSEMBLY (speech for the inauguration of the "Assembly" painting)

The question which guided me in the conception and the realization of this painting is that of the creation and the resolution of a tension, even a contradiction, between static elements and dynamic elements. The problem is partly due to the evolution that has been mine in painting, but I attach a more general scope to it.

Two elements contribute to the establishment of a static framework. First, the use of white and black as dominant colors. But it is mainly the graphics which, as a mode of representation, participates in a construction whose architecture is characterized by its solidity. In that issue, I was inspired by a drawing on paper in India ink made in 1989. The style is inspired by old works of mine and the theme of birds has always been one of my favorites. But does not the use of graphics lead to a contradiction, in that it would be a negation of the specificity of painting? This is the question I wanted to answer.

To the static elements, and in the same space of the painting, I wanted to oppose and integrate other constituent elements of the movement. My intention was to transform an eminently plastic work into a dynamic painting, in front of which one can experience a feeling of life or liberation. This is why, before drawing the first line with a black brush and placing the large masses, a preliminary work was to create a background incorporating the material. The unevenness of relief, even covered with white, catches the eye which no longer moves on a homogeneous surface.

Graphic design also contributes to the expression of movement through its sinuous line, its rhythm, the impression of a crowd, the variety of faces of the characters, their expressions, the diversity of sizes and attitudes. The nature of an assembly is evoked here with a touch of humor: a meeting where various opinions, sometimes contradictory,are expressed. Again the theme of contradiction, which is central for the community and deep down for each of us.

Another element that participates in the dynamics is the use of colors: limited use, but worked and multiple. A white frame was chosen to suggest that the space is not enclosed within the limits of the canvas and opens to an exterior.

Eventually, the painting may give the impression of spontaneity. The impression is fictitious, and is due to a relatively fast execution once the project has been completely developed in my mind.

This constructed combination, this interweaving of themes is part of the traditional heritage of painting. The performance is resolutely contemporary, because a work produced today faces questions that are those of our time, with its present means. Its point is not to deliver a message, but to question and to keep alert. In that sense, painting has in common with teaching that it is a restless activity, oriented towards questioning the present and opening up to the future. It participates in that search with its own language, which combines universality and modernity.

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Chantal Dufour

12/15/1994