Dominique Vial

Between rigour and freedom

Born in Chambéry in 1970, I've always had a pen in my hand to express myself through writing, drawing and graphic design. My scientific studies gave structure to this self-taught practice, bringing rigour and mastery, while at the same time my mind wandered freely to a variety of horizons: music, comics, tagging, abstract painting...

The intertwining of these two seemingly contradictory worlds enriches my practice of hand-drawing: from the elegant curves of handwriting, to the precise, standardised lines of technical drawing, to the unpredictable twists and turns of boldly gestural tagging.

Confident in my intuition, I approach painting without any preliminary sketches. Complexity and lightness intertwine in coloured lines of force that emerge from the support, sometimes a trace, sometimes a line. I add, remove, scratch, claw and incise, amplifying, revealing or masking, as I move forward in this intimate dialogue between the paint and myself.

From this interaction springs an abstract painting, dynamic and colourful, vibrant and alive. A painting that oscillates between propagation and explosion, like light unfolding in space and time: a painting in motion. It's a journey that embodies my essential need for freedom and authenticity, for the discovery of my inner self and for artistic expression.