From André Cervera, we know his attachment to the figure, to characters staged in various situations and who seem to play a daily masquerade, no doubt existential, in private or public. They are reminiscent of ghosts, sorts of ectoplasm, visible emanations from a reality hidden behind appearances, and basically metaphorize the most accurate symbolism to define the true function of the painting: to open a temporary space where entities that would only exist as long as we are looking at them. For his exhibition at the Reservoir he designed paintings that revolve around the theme of music, and entitled The color, “Accord et à cris”.
You should know that in Sète festivals are legion, throughout the summer, and that the painter is interested in all existing or proven forms of music. But true to his principles, he only considers it in action, on stage or let's say in a performative atmosphere. Whether it's the Rolling Stones or Jimi Hendrix, Brassens or Eddie Cochran, Bo Diddley or even his friend Combas, Cervera favors performance, movement as he himself practices it in his works. In his latest, kraft pasted on canvas, the background tends to be purified, everything focuses on the public scene – and sometimes even more intimate and private. Basically, music and painting have many points in common, if only the notions of rhythm or color, and the famous correspondences that Baudelaire evoked, it would not take much to hear the music of painters vibrate.
But this exhibition will also be an opportunity for Cervera to return, in a larger format, to more than 20 years of production, and favoring kraft. We will discover his subjective way here also of reporting on his travels in China, India or Africa, or of addressing themes that are dear to him such as the black novel. A good opportunity to discover his forward-looking and profound work.
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