Marco Polo (2016) Painting by Alexandre Podgorny

Alexandre PODGORNY

Of a Russian father and a French mother, I was born in 1956 in Asnières in the near Paris suburbs. My childhood, surrounded by many brothers and sisters, was taken care of and marked by the Russian immigration environment very early on. My adolescence, on the other hand, fit very well with the post-sixty-eight protest spirit of the 1970s.


After secondary school between daydreams and little sketches, I was admitted in 1975 to the entrance exam to the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux Arts de Paris (ENSBA). I spent two years of training there.

I first sought my path from a figurative perspective (1975-1976 - Pierre Carron's workshop) before committing to a more abstract approach (1976 -1977 - Pierre Matthey's workshop).

From the Carron workshop, I retained the pleasure of progressive mastery of composition and drawing (or painting) but also the feeling of being dependent on a certain conformism.

My defector to Matthey's workshop was initially an act of reaction to this "conformism" and a leap into the unknown. Despite the maximum discomfort I felt due to the mobility and relativity of speeches and landmarks (or sometimes even their absence...), I felt a real exaltation in painting and drawing. As I gained confidence, I discovered a taste for risk and the unexpected. Beyond the multiple failures, I only remembered the fleeting moments where, on paper, the unpredictable occurred – small miracles so unexpected that I came to doubt that I was the author...

At the same time, I was introduced to silk painting under the friendly guidance of Arkady Kniazieff, a major figure in silk painting in France and a former studio companion of my father (who was himself a silk painter during the 1970s). 30). The technique used – fusing dyes controlled by gutta settings – is a risky technique because there is no possibility of going back. In this way, painting on silk appeared as a natural extension of my work in the Matthey workshop.

At the end of 1977, I interrupted my studies to enter working life. I then held very diverse jobs (postman, silk painter, archaeologist, trader, etc.) in several regions of France and, at the same time, obtained a License in Regional Planning.
During this period my family life and my professional activities predominated and I rarely drew or painted. However, this long period of "abstinence" was rich in practices and events that led me to reflect on the meaning of my artistic concerns. The ten years of activity in the field of archeology were, in this respect, particularly decisive.

Living in the Montpellier region since 2005, I felt the need to reinvest myself in drawing and painting.

Since the beginning of 2007, I...

• Nationality: FRANCE
• Date of birth : 1956
• Artistic domains:
• Groups: Contemporary French Artists