Gfr, 2002

Jacques Clauzel  

Engraving is for Jacques Clauzel a formidable field of experimentation which he explores by multiplying the techniques: dry point, aquatint, etching ... Also painter, designer and photographer, his work is inspired by the primitive arts. Clauzel's work is of an incredible pictorial unity: sobriety, simplicity, absence of subject, permanence of the vertical rectangular format, large monochrome surfaces in shades of black, white or brown ... are the main ingredients of a work. where the line reigns, where each of these lines has its beginning and its end, like an accident-free lifeline. Present for a long time at the Estampe gallery, his slow and regular work speaks of time: he seems to punctuate it and stretch it to better perceive it, feel it and experience it. Jacques Clauzel was born in 1941. He attended the Fine Arts schools of Tourcoing, Montpellier and Paris (Chastel workshop). He was appointed grand logiste at the Grand Prix de Rome in 1964. From 1965 to 1973, he was first a decorator for Ivorian television then a painting teacher at the National School of Fine Arts in Abidjan (Ivory Coast) . At the same time, he makes frequent trips to surrounding countries (Mali, Burkina-Faso, Niger, Ghana, Togo, Dahomey…) during which he takes many photographs. Photographs which, taken together, constitute real testimonies. He is passionate about Negro art and collects it. Clauzel published two works of photographs with the Serg editions: “Ici Bon Photo” in 1969 and “Le Marchés d'Abidjan” in 1972. In 1973, he returned to France. 1976 is marked as much by the return to painting through automatic drawings as by a period of research (crumpled papers, then torn and pasted, large paper mounted ...). He chooses to work on kraft paper. From 1985 the essential themes which determine his work are identified and present in all of his work. At the same time as painting, Jacques Clauzel practices other techniques (engraving, lithography, serigraphy, and photography), publishes artist's books with “A travers” editions and collaborates with many other publishing houses.