From Montreuil, an artistic hub, Étienne François makes his name resonate in the contemporary art scene… This French painter, a graduate of the Beaux-Arts de Paris, has carved out a unique place for himself in the art world thanks to a distinctive aesthetic that harmoniously blends tradition and innovation.
Étienne François, Painter: Colors and Classics
What immediately strikes you in Étienne François’s works is his masterful use of color. Each canvas is an explosion of vibrant and harmonious hues – the colors here are not just applied, but alive, interacting with each other, creating a vibrant and emotional atmosphere. Étienne François explains that his works are “constantly evolving”; for him, “color is one of the first things that comes, even before the beginnings of the painting,” he says in an interview with Icon-Icon.
Étienne François acknowledges the influence of great masters such as Cézanne, Van Gogh, and Bonnard in his work. He particularly admires “Bonnard’s still lifes” for their unique framing and the impression that objects are about to fall, adding tangibility to his compositions. “I really like Cézanne, Van Gogh for their somewhat offbeat side, where the object is presented for its form and not for what it is,” he explains again to Icon-Icon.
Étienne François stands out for his ability to revisit classic painting themes while infusing them with a contemporary touch. His work is a true symbiosis between the past and the present. He redraws subjects with a bold gesture, revealing impressive technical mastery and deep sensitivity. His paintings captivate with their audacity and freshness while paying homage to the great masters of the past. According to him, his paintings “are born from a vast corpus of images, most often extracted from books, reproductions of paintings, or photographs.”
Étienne François structures his work into thematic series, exploring common subjects in art history from a new angle. For him, the reappropriation of these themes often happens through “a detail, a formal element that I extract from the image, reproduce, divert, cover.” This approach allows for the continuous transformation of his works, painting and repainting them, thus creating a new image at each stage!
In his works, Étienne François frequently incorporates everyday objects, giving them a new artistic dimension. Notably, he uses plastic bottles, omnipresent objects from his childhood… “They are part of everyday objects that we tend to overlook, but they have a strong presence in our daily lives,” he says. These objects, which he reuses and transforms, uniquely enrich his compositions.
Beyond painting, Étienne François also explores sculpture, inspired by architectural forms and typical objects of the landscape. “My practice of sculpture, in a certain logic, relates to space”… Represented by Atelier PGR, he is undoubtedly a name to follow!