Last Paintings, interview with Orianne Castel
Marina Bastianello, March 2023
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In the exhibition ‘Derniers tableaux‘, you present about twenty works from the series of the same name. With this exhibition, you aim to resolve the conflicts that have echoed throughout art history. You do this by skilfully blending visual elements that have typically clashed: from the lively interplay of perspective and flatness to the seamless merging of freeform compositions and symmetrical balance. So, your practice draws heavily from the works of other artists. What kind of paintings do you most enjoy?
I enjoy a wide range of things as I’m most fascinated with the artistic solutions artists come up with to convey what matters to them. Even if I don’t personally connect with their subject matter, I’m still curious about how they ‘compose’ their works. I’m equally intrigued by both abstract and figurative works. What really sparks my interest is delving into the choices artists make regarding forms, materials, colours, textures and sizes, and how they blend these elements to convey the questions that drive them. Also, I find my own methods through studying the work of others, so it’s important for me to look at paintings from all eras and styles. Right now, I’m especially interested in following the developments of figurative painters from my generation. I naturally started to pay attention to them because they’re widely exhibited, but what struck me was how their work seemed to echo the same concerns I have. I often find these ideas of blending opposites and disrupting the image resonate with me. Beyond the formal tradition to which we refer, we share these questions about the image that are undoubtedly those of our time.
Are there any artists that, conversely, don’t capture your interest?
I usually find artworks with a moral message rather boring. It’s not that I lack ethics or oppose the values these artists aim to uphold; it’s just that often the message overshadows the artistic expression, leading to visually uninteresting works. But overall, I find that contemporary painting avoids this pitfall more than other mediums do. When it comes to painting, I’m not particularly drawn to humour. Take François Morellet, for instance; his artistic approach doesn’t quite resonate with me. He is, however, a great artist. I’m particularly struck by how his variations on the work 16 squares reflect, step by step, the evolution of his relationship with art. From the very rigorous painting of 1953 to his flexible neon grids of 1994, created from children’s drawings imitating the 16 squares, we can really grasp the shift in his artistic conception from something very idealistic to something much more playful. This shows that he knows how to visually express what drives him, but his shift towards humour, even though it’s artistically well executed, is somewhat difficult for me to relate to. Actually, I think I’m not receptive to the type of humour that painting conveys; I need a narrative.
You mentioned that your favorite piece in the exhibition was Homage to Agnes Martin. She’s an artist whose work you’ve extensively studied. Lastly, are there any artists you feel you haven’t explored enough?
There are many, and I probably should make more of an effort to explore painters who play with imagery from low culture. Some aesthetics, like those of Narrative Figuration or certain Pop Art artists, resonate with me so little that I find it challenging to engage with them. The same goes for paintings that indulge in an excess of texture. It’s so far from my tastes that I struggle to look past it, even though there may be interesting aspects to them. But to answer your question, I’d love to find the time to explore artists who’ve ambitiously sought to define painting through their own artistic lens. There are as many definitions of painting as there are artists, and I have yet to exhaust this theme of reflective painting. I’m familiar with some works from the past (Rodchenko’s triptych, Pure Red, Pure Blue and Pure Yellow, Reinhardt’s Ultimate Paintings and Stella’s Black Paintings) but there are undoubtedly many others I don’t know about. I’m now looking for their successors among my contemporaries. This is a new project I’m embarking on, and I hope it will lead to paintings for my ‘Hommages’ series. Ultimately, creating new images by drawing from past paintings is what painters have always done. In fact, that might be my definition of painting.
Orianne Castel 