Patrice MURCIANO
PATRICE MURCIANO
For a long time I painted in oils, starting with seascapes, because for a long time I was in love with the shimmering light of the water, and the blue of the waves when it blends with the whiteness of the foam... that same luminous white that would later become the basis of my New Pop.
Light has always fascinated me: I wanted to learn it, understand it, master it.
At the tender age of 6, I discovered it through the chiaroscuro paintings of the great masters such as Rembrandt, De La Tour, Vermeer, but also and above all Vincent Van Gogh.
Even back then, I used to observe, tirelessly trying to reproduce these masterpieces, first in pencil, then in gouache, and finally in oil, constantly asking myself... How does it work? How do they do it?
I wanted so much to know…
Thus, from a very young age, I worked with several techniques and styles, trying to capture the essence of this light which gradually invaded my heart and soul.
It was at the age of 16 that I temporarily abandoned my paintbrushes to try my hand at photography, inspired by the photographer David Hamilton, whose photos then magically flirted with painting.
My girlfriends from back then play along, they pose, like those women in glossy magazines who have been my muses since my earliest childhood.
At the beginning, I naturally made a few blunders, as photography remains a very technical art that requires mastering its various components: managing film, lighting, camera settings, a sense of framing... and directing models is no easy task. Especially when it
But my muses play along. Then my first artistic nudes are born, tinged with romanticism.
Because women have always inspired and fascinated me. I think I would simply have preferred to be one of them.
I have never considered women as «objects» that one paints, photographs, dresses or undresses, but rather as distinct beings.
Magnificent and mysterious beings.
Beings so different from their male counterparts that they almost constitute a separate species in my eyes...
Admiring what nature has been able to create, through these bodies, from the slimmest to the curviest, and through these faces, from the youngest to the oldest, is an endless source of inspiration.
I actually wrote a story about this subject that I intend to adapt for the cinema.
This film, which will mark my return behind the camera (another of my passions, less well known to the public), will be called «A l'ombre des couleurs», and its central character will be an artist, a painter and sculptor, whose muse is that woman who lies dormant within him...
But let us return to my tortuous path in life.
Around the age of 27, I took up my brushes again, inspired by a more «raw» pictorial art found in the work of Picasso, Basquiat or, more generally, in African art.
With this new style I am seeking to accentuate, to distort what inspires me about women. They thus find themselves placed on the canvas with outsize mouths, eyes just as exaggeratedly large, noses practically invisible... The whole thing in a palette of primary, bright colours, set within very graphic black lines.
Thus was born in 1996 the style that I call «COURBISME», the name of which makes no reference whatsoever to the painter Gustave Courbet, but rather to the curves of my muses.
I painted like this from 1996 to 2009, but exhibitions were rare, sales too, and social media, which is today an undeniable tool for recognition, was only just starting.
Financial difficulties are beginning. Evicted from my home, I find myself without a roof over my head. I survive as best I can: I eat from supermarket shelves, I live in my car with my dog and my partner, then a bit at my parents' place, a bit at her family's place...
But I am not giving up.
Late 2010, with the leftover paint I had, I created a canvas depicting Michael Jackson, an artist I have always admired, whose energy is matched only by his talent.
I am exhibiting it in a small pizzeria in Montpellier belonging to friends. Some time later, this artwork was noticed and then bought (for 500 euros at the time, which was already wonderful for me!) by a mysterious stranger who insisted on meeting me.
We arrange to meet in the car park of a famous fast-food restaurant so that I can hand over the artwork to him, and we chat. Politely, he asks me how I am getting on in my career, and is very surprised when I tell him about my difficulties.
In his or her view, my talent shouldn't mean I'm in this situation.
It was then that this angel, who came out of nowhere, decided to help me: he offered to put me up for free in a house that also served as a workshop, while things improved. I moved into this house in 2011, which, even today, is the place where I live, create, and experiment, and to which I even gave a name: LEA, because it is my Lieu d'Expériences Artistiques (Place of Artistic Experimentation).
Within these walls, I paint again and again so as not to disappoint my patron, with almost no materials, by reworking my old canvases.
I am constantly thinking about a way to get out of this financial situation, without giving up my aesthetic pursuit.
I can't afford to buy canvases, paint, brushes... But I have this old Apple computer and Wacom graphics tablet that have been with me for years, and which I used to use to retouch my photos. I'm trying out some black-and-white digital painting with a drawing software, and the result turns out to be very interesting...
I have always been inspired by electronic music, from Jean-Michel Jarre and Vangelis to Daft Punk. A rather mad idea then came to me: what if I created «electronic painting»?
These artists successfully sample real instruments which they remix, so why not try to «sample» paint splatters, strokes, drips... in order to create a hybrid artwork that brings traditional painting and digital art into symbiosis? This is how I printed my first creation onto canvas, a portrait of David Bowie created in digital paint.
I like the result, but... something is missing. I’m going back to the lines used in my «Courbisme» style, refining them, «scribbling» with acrylic markers on the canvas in a very energetic way, like a huge signature spread across the artwork. I try photographing paint splatters to integrate them into the piece, and that's when the accident happens. The one that's going to change everything.
A drop of coloured acrylic paint falls onto the black and white portrait of David Bowie.
Initially very annoyed by this blunder, I try to clean the stain with a sponge soaked in water. When the paint dilutes, it tints the artwork in places, while maintaining the highlights and contrasts, somewhat in the spirit of Warhol's colourful portraits.
Intrigued by this surprising mix, I let the paint dry, then repeated the experiment with another colour next to it, then yet another, accentuating the whole thing with splatters of acrylic, spray paint... New Pop was born!
I subsequently had the good fortune and opportunity to meet big names in fashion, music, cinema and sport, who inspired me and to whom I was able to present their portraits in person. However, in my New Pop art you will find other recurring subjects which you will discover on this site, such as animals, skulls and, of course... the female body in all its sensuality.
Bon voyage …
