Gabriel, 2023
Thomas Jeunet

“Gabriel," a deeply personal work, is like one of the artist's children. An autumn-winter piece, marked by the cycle of seasons, leading to the birth of her child, like a tree shedding its leaves to be reborn in spring. The autumnal colors paint a warm canvas, where ochre, brown, and gold evoke the richness of nourishing soils and the inevitable transition of life. The black and white sections suggest striking contrasts, like those found in nature: night and day, shadow and light, the darkness of a deep forest and the golden glow of a sun-drenched field. The birth of a child illuminates life with vibrant new chapters, like a bud bursting through the bark of a tree after winter.
This warm canvas symbolizes the richness of experiences, the warmth of humanity, but also the warmth of the earth that nourishes and shapes life. It evokes the sweetness of shared moments, like the bonds woven between living beings in a harmonious ecosystem. The striking contrasts between black and white convey the duality of life, this delicate balance between shadow and light, between storms and clear skies. A fragile equilibrium, like the one nature strives to maintain in the face of climate change. Darkness evokes mystery, the unknown, sometimes the harshness of hardship—like the storms that shake the earth—but white brings light, clarity, purity, knowledge, and the hope of a world to rebuild. This whole lends itself to exceptional emotions, those that the artist translates into this canvas, in a quest for meaning, for renewed connections with life and with our surroundings.
The artwork retraces several moments in life, from birth at the center of the universe in the upper right of the canvas, to the constant evolution of a child discovering their environment. It is a journey, a wandering through a landscape of colors and textures, like a stream carving its way through rocks, patiently developing its course. In the middle left, the child tentatively explores, on tiptoe, like a fawn hesitating in a clearing, ready to take a new step each day. These stages, represented as a staircase in the upper left, are reminiscent of the strata of the soil, silent witnesses to the history of the world. They are then structured into horizontal and vertical lines, like the roots of a tree anchored in the earth, then its branches rising towards the sky, in search of light.
True to his favorite colors, Thomas Jeunet gives prominence to black and white, the primal colors, before introducing new perspectives through orange, gold, yellow, and bronze. These sun-drenched hues, like the cycle of the seasons, infuse the work with a vibrant energy, like the golden light of an autumn morning caressing the treetops. Yellow and orange are associated with the human condition, but also with that of nature: the warmth of the sun, the brilliance of autumn leaves, the life force that animates every living being.
The orange-painted fabric in the center right of the artwork symbolizes the fabric of life, woven from experiences, relationships, and emotions, much like the invisible web that connects every element of an ecosystem. It also evokes the earth, nourishing and protective, which shapes life and carries within it the infinite cycle of rebirth. This womb, constantly forming and reforming, recalls the primordial matrix, where life germinates in a delicate dance between strength and fragility.
The bottom of the canvas depicts the stages of life, the boxes a child ticks off each day through their learning, like a farmer sowing seeds, hoping to see a promising bloom tomorrow. This progression culminates in an explosion of color, like a spring blossom after a long winter. An explosion of life, of renewal, reminiscent of the dripping technique, similar to raindrops nourishing the earth, or sap gushing from a tree trunk with the return of warmer weather.
The ingenious use of texture, through rough surfaces and folds, adds a tactile dimension, inviting the viewer to delve into the living matter of the canvas, as one might explore the bark of a tree or the asperities of a rock sculpted by the wind. The juxtaposition of warm and cool colors, notably burnt orange and luminous yellow, lends the work an emotional depth, reflecting the changing climates and moods that evolve with the seasons. This artwork commands attention with its boldness and complexity, prompting reflection on the interplay between order and chaos, nature and humankind, and the fragile balance between our world and the one that surrounds us.
Thank you, Gabriel. Thank you to nature, which inspires us and reminds us that everything in this world is interconnected.