SAVE THE DATE   April 16-20, 2024

INTIMATE EXPRESSIONIST LYRISM II   &   SUGAR 

francis-olivier BRUNET 1962-2018 paintings 

Originally from Haute-Savoie, he trained at the Beaux-Arts in Grenoble, Valence and Geneva. 

In the summer of 2021, when for the first time I went to the artist's studio guided by Muriel Bain, his widow, I remember sighing with lightness in a tragic context. The mark of Francis-Olivier Brunet was palpable. I had not had the chance to meet the painter during his lifetime, I found myself in his studio stunned by the importance of the work. 

We would like to thank Muriel Bain and her children Yanis and Dimitri Brunet for their trust as well as Michèle Lechevalier responsible for “ArtHUG” who lends to the exhibition “LYRISME EXPRESSIONISTE INTIME II   &   SUSUCRE » four works by Francis-Olivier Brunet part of the HUG collection. 

“Rather enigmatic faces, a portrait of “The Holy Figure” or “Old Spaniard” so many paintings from which it is difficult to take your eyes off as the characters seem to call the viewer to witness. This confrontation quickly provokes reflection.

Francis-Olivier Brunet is a multiple artist who creates book illustrations as well as videos and paintings. He paints his figures in acrylic on paper in contrasting colors: red and white, red and gray, leaving the support blank in places. Sometimes he prefers a dark background, so the face of Christ appears even more pale. I was struck by the expressive look of the paintings but also by the compassion they provoked in me. 

Francis-Olivier Brunet gives an incredible presence to his models whose character he expresses in a personal work between figuration and abstraction, the essential being concentrated on the face and the gaze. We find this writing in the translation of the trees to which he gives a slightly reinvented reality. »Nicole Lamothe 

“Winner of the Claire Combes Prize from the Taylor Foundation 2014. He was previously distinguished by receiving the Paris-Pékin Prize in 1985 and the Prize of the Institut National Genevois in 1996.

His work has been exhibited by numerous galleries in France, Switzerland, Belgium, Lithuania, his works are in private collections in Europe, China Peru, USA, New Zealand and in public collections, City of Montélimar, Institut National Genevois and to the Cantonal Fund of the City of Geneva. »

lorédane STRASCHNOV 1979 installation  SUSUCRE 2023 

Sugar packaging (25kg), table, tablecloth, crockery, services, bottle of Prosecco, sugar, cakes.

This installation denounces the over-consumption of sugar which not only impacts human beings, but also the animals it says it “takes care of”. The reward sugar is poisonous for the animal. Just like for humans, its consumption causes diabetes, excess weight, addiction.

Carved from packaging intended to be thrown away, these dogs are our pet trash cans. We poison them, intentionally or not, by leaving our waste on land. The absence of human guests around the table symbolizes this denial.

The luxurious orgies of children's snacks have nothing to envy of the "after parties" where drugs and alcohol mingle. In this case, under a very chic and yet very dark appearance, these buffets are full of cheap products, which only suit the lobbies.

The presence of the couple in retreat creates the figure of authority, the one who fuels the system, the figure of a parental state which fades into obscurity.

In a style of still lifes (abundance, hunting dogs, subdued lighting) this installation focuses on what is on the table, what speaks of our interior and our time, junk food.

A violence to hidden death, inside what should disgust us, in the light of a chandelier pimped with bling-bling, a false chandelier. L.S.

AGENDA: 

Tuesday 16. Press meeting from 17 p.m. to 20 p.m. 

Wednesday 17. GFT hosts the “MONALISALU” parade. Geneva-based designer of unique pieces, spring-summer collection. 20 p.m. 

Thursday 18. OPENING – INTIMATE EXPRESSIONIST LYRISM II   &   SUGAR. 18 p.m. 

Friday 19. GFT welcome Mr. Ferdinand Le Comte who, accompanied by Maulde Coutau, will speak a selection of his texts, “VOYAGES POETIQUES” published by alpigrammes. 19 p.m.