©F.MARTIN
What inspired you to create works of art and to become an artist? (Events, feelings, experiences...)
As far back as I can remember, drawing and painting have always been part of my daily life. Since my early childhood, Art has always lived in my life.
What is your artistic background, the techniques and subjects you have experimented with so far?
My artistic career is the logical continuation of my commitment, 6 years of study at the National School of Applied Arts and Crafts in Paris, then years of drawing, posters and illustrations. These years have allowed me to approach a wide range of graphic and pictorial techniques, to learn, learn and own his technique to better forget it, be free and devote himself to the essential, emotion.
What are the 3 aspects that differentiate you from other artists, making your work unique?
My work is deeply rooted in the tradition of painting and resolutely turned towards contemporary expression. The Human has an essential part in my approach to painting beyond mere formal representation. I like pictorial and graphic confrontations, anachronisms and mystery… the mystery of painting.
Where does your inspiration come from?
My inspiration is inscribed in life, in history, in time.
What is your artistic approach? What visions, sensations or feelings do you want to evoke in the viewer?
The human being is at the center of my approach, I try to address his fears, his torments, his questions, his spirituality. Being faced with the world around it, unstable, faced with these uncertainties, faced with time, faced with the inevitable. The part of mystery is essential for me in the process, to accept to doubt, to question what seems acquired to us, to challenge without ever shocking, to question, to question oneself because the more I observe our world, the more I doubt the certainties of our era.
What is the process of creating your works? Spontaneous or with a long preparatory process (technical, inspiration from art classics or other)?
It is primarily mentalized, can arise from the confrontation of an existing work or come from the fruit of a pictorial reflection. It is developed gradually (sketches, studies, approaches) or directly on the support, in one go because each work is an experience and an end in itself, it does not respond to a systematic process.
Do you use a particular working technique? if so, can you explain it?
All techniques are possible. I approach my work through drawing, from graphite to black stone, from charcoal to chalk, then acrylic, oil, from surface to volume, from canvas to composite work. All fields of exploration are possible, the important thing being the result.
Are there any innovative aspects in your work? Can you tell us which ones?
Confront the art of yesterday with the yardstick of our time, provoke a pictorial conversation through a resolutely contemporary graphic approach.
Do you have a format or medium that you are most comfortable with? if yes, why ? Whatever the format, the support, the constraints allow the experiments...
Where do you produce your works? At home, in a shared workshop or in your own workshop? And in this space, how do you organize your creative work? My own workshop, a long-awaited place where my universe reigns… I spend most of my time there.
Does your work lead you to travel to meet new collectors, for fairs or exhibitions? If so, what does it bring you?
Exhibitions lead me to travel, to leave my studio. These opportunities allow me to meet amateurs, collectors, other artists and to measure through our exchanges their perception of my creations.
How do you imagine the evolution of your work and your career as an artist in the future? Extending the path because painting is a quest, living to paint and painting to live.
What is the theme, style or technique of your latest artistic production?
I am currently working on the theme of metamorphoses which induces the notion of passing through time and I am also working on the development of a new theme on confrontations.
Can you tell us about your most important exhibition experience?
One of my last exhibitions within a cultural space which was allocated to me allowed me to present on 300 m2 an important set of my realizations and to be able to consider the totality of the scenography according to the place. Designing an exhibition means envisaging a conversation between the works and presenting it to the viewer, it means plunging the visitor into our universe, conversing with him through the creations, talking to him, questioning him, touching him.
If you could have created a famous work in the history of art, which one would you choose? And why ?
Very difficult to choose a work among the giants who have preceded us. The Cartoon of Burlington House (Saint Anne) by Leonardo da Vinci because it has everything of an accomplished work in its incompleteness and it contains the intrinsic mystery of a major work out of time.
If you could invite one famous artist (dead or alive) to dinner, who would it be? How would you suggest he spend the evening?
I would prepare a sumptuous well-watered meal where I would invite Rembrandt, Bacon and Géricault, I would listen to them talk about art, painting and life, discourse on form and content, get carried away, reinforce or oppose each other and I think I would learn a lot from these three giants. An unforgettable evening, no doubt about it!
Olimpia Gaia Martinelli
