Trash Wall, 2014

Pierre Fava  

Born in Toulon in a Corsican family in 1979, his childhood was particularly difficult. He saw his father occasionally and his mother lost custody due to abuse. His studies were nonexistent and he quickly ran away from this inadequate family and social environment.

He had a natural knack to adapt and through his encounters, he developed his intellectual powers, built his personality and began painting. He quickly noticed that he had serious difficulties drawing or mastering the expression of shape and therefore felt much more at ease when he dealt with the material itself.

His self-teaching had an unexpected twist as it spontaneously took after a well-known artist, though he realized this only later, mostly due to a third party who mentioned it. This is where one discovered a affiliation with Pierre Soulages or American expressionist abstracts, also due to its symbolism, which was in keeping with his state of mind. If the recent works are highlighted through color, black isn't completely absent.

Their peculiar brightness and radiance was paradoxically maintained due to the black printing which is under the colored layer. Pierre Fava worked with thick colors. One can follow the trace of the brush or the palette knife, the energy rolled out to create the work, the recorded struggle between man and the material.

One can compare his work with Barnett Newman and his "zip" through a more appeased aspect. Indeed, he put on adhesive paper bands before he added color. He deeply brushed over these masks to register shapes with uncertain edges.

These shapes are like an opening which allows the eye to dig and become one with his landscape. Whether it's the peaceful side of his personality or an aggressive lay out. Pierre Favo is still known for his genuine character and compelling strength.