The imprint and the negative
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​Pierre paints almost exclusively abstract backgrounds on very large canvases. The colors used, are discussed, studied and understood by him and the model.
The models are unrecognizable.They have neither faces nor distinctive features, only fragments of them are visible patches of skin, parts of limbs intertwined with one another. While one might guess their gender, it's impossible to determine if they are men or women. The overall effect is abstract in itself.
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But the important thing is not to recognize or distinguish individuals; the focus is not on appearance or resemblance. When Pierre uses the technique of imprinting, he knows exactly whom he is representing on the canvas, it is important for Pierre to understand the model.
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The imprinting, follows a very defined process, a precise ritual of repetitions. So, it's known that the large canvas with the red background represents the model but what matters more than the identity is the texture of the skin, the relief of the skin, the striations engraved in the still-wet acrylic.
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Equally important is the unexpected emergence of the skeletal structure, the bone structure imprinted on the canvas—the joints, knees, and elbows—likely linked to the laws of physics, where pressure points are more pronounced than softer flesh. Depending on the artist's decision, what emerges from the canvas is a macabre dance of disjointed limbs, a languid skeleton, or the ideal structure of a perfect body stretched across the canvas.
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This work of imprinting must be done very quickly ; within a few minutes, the paint dries and fixes the body's trace. Preparation is crucial, with no room to second-guess the decision, to be swayed by the randomness of a line or shape.
There's no place for slowness, deliberation, hesitation, or indecision.
The other technique Pierre practices is that of the negative. His canvases then become monochromatic, where the play of shadows reveals, in relief, characters that are equally unidentifiable...
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