Mathilde André

Mathilde André's work tells of an endless duel between forces that imprison and forces that liberate. On the one hand, the injunctions since early childhood: "it's not like that you have to do", "it's not like that you have to write", "it's not like that that you have to talk", "that's not how you have to be". Social codes, academic codes, language codes, genetic codes, codes, codes, codes. "Apply tape so you don't overflow - even when you apply tape, you overflow - whatever you do, you will always overflow". "Don't associate this red and that blue".

The artist bumps into a space in which she has no bearings, against a space that she does not control. A constant reference to his dyslexia. On the other, the irrepressible need to survive as a creative entity.

What happens when we break the rules, when we go out of bounds? Are we able to defy harsh looks, definitive judgments, and especially challenge our own thinking mechanisms? Is it even possible to free yourself when you have been so prisoner of codes and boxes for so long? If we remove the markers, is there still a space in which we can navigate? The artist lets express the strength of emotions, the strength of instinct. Colors arise, especially blues, in which the artist navigates, asserts himself, seems to find a place. The achievements reveal a cold violence, a controlled aggressiveness, which leaves little hope for liberation. A small glimmer, thin, is however there. The artist likes to quote Louise Bourgeois: "color is stronger than language". Little by little, the works light up, become more soothing and allow more serenity to emerge. Colors say more than shapes. They give the form, they give the tempo, they are the moment, they are the movement, they vibrate. And despite beliefs, they can all go together. But the result is clear: the scars remain, the graphic markers are omnipresent and recall the primary arts, the repetition of the motifs illustrates this attachment to this Cartesian space that the artist sought to flee. The balance is fragile. Sylvain Mayer.

Find this artist and many more in our collection of works by colorful cubist portraitists.