PatrickBOUSSIGNACBoussi-gnac

Jean-FrançoisLARRIEULar-rieu

The French connection

01

Pre-face

Opera Gallery is pleased to present a powerful exhibition featuring two French artists: expressionist-surrealist Jean-François Larrieu and illustrator-caricaturist Patrick Boussignac in a new, joint exhibition.

The two French artists fostered their love of art through painting and drawing at young ages, with both receiving accolades for their work under the age of 12.

Larrieu’s earthy, environmentally-focussed oil works place the form in mystical surrealism. Indeed, the artist describes himself as an “abstract expressionist and surrealist”. His landscapes burst with a spectrum of colours, depicting cityscapes, flora and fauna and everyday life in tonal patchworks. Natural, soft imagery blends with modern expressions of architecture and city life throughout his work; and detail abounds in every piece. The cities of New York, Hong Kong, Dubai and Paris feature regularly in his urban representations, with multi-coloured, multicultural, universalist indications. His work has been compared to that of Paul Klee and Joan Miró and commentators have said his “visual vocabulary is delightful in order to sublimate the real world and reach plastic metamorphosis of one universe, where Human remains the central topic of a poetic surrealist”.

Contemporary painter Patrick Boussignac specialises in oil on canvas representations of the self, with focal, natural portraiture a forte. African faces feature strongly in his portfolio, with each portrait indicative of a place, a time and a specific physicality. Female images are inspired by famous faces in history, including the Mona Lisa, Saint Danielle and Greek goddess Artemisia. His interest in 18th and 19th Century painting influences his varied oil on canvas pieces, to which he now dedicates his full attention, having joined the group Peintres de la Réalité. With wide-ranging artistic talents, he has worked on political cartoons, caricatures, comic art and children’s book illustrations in the past. Inspired by different movements of art history, his touch is both that of symbolist Jean Delville and romantic Anne-Louis Girodet, and also that of naive painter Henri Rousseau. Developing his own universe through painting allows one to “distance ourselves from perception”, he said.

While their home countries are the same, Larrieu and Boussignac’s works both oppose and complement at the same time. Opera Gallery Dubai welcomes you to view fruits of these two French artists’ endeavours.

Gilles DyanFounder and Chairman

Opera Gallery Group

Preface

The French connection

02 03

Bous-signac

Nighthawks Oil on canvas 146 x 114 cm - 57.5 x 44.9 in.

The universe of Boussignac is watching…

The artist likes to claim that he “throws our perceptions off-balance”.

Patrick Boussignac, a story-teller and painter, profoundly attached to figurative art, strives to ensure that each spectator, regardless of their background, origins or other influences, will be able to delve into his works and extract something that echoes within.

And his works, of such a remarkable technical mastery, seem to cruise between realism, fiction and the imaginary. They carry the onlooker off, sometimes with irony, always with genius. They evoke an enigma steeped in canvases where every minute detail plays a unique role in the breaking point between the real and the unreal.

With such breathtaking singularity, Patrick Boussignac’s art is a subtle, potent beverage. We are offered a generous cocktail of beings cradled in a backdrop of history, religion and mythology. Historical references abound, the spectator is a tourist in an ancient civilization. Where a Mona Lisa becomes an Indian or a Damoclès is endowed with Asian features. The artist is a master of the pictorial narrative; he weaves his tales and takes us on a poetic journey that knows neither boundaries nor respect for temporal references.

In the artist’s own words: “And what if the art of painting was only the extension of our illusion that everything surrounding us has meaning?”

PatrickBOUSSIGNAC

04 05CeNt titres Oil on canvas 80 x 80 cm - 31.5 x 31.5 in. souvieNs-toi BarBara Oil on canvas 140 x 70 cm - 55.1 x 27.6 in.

06 07MoNa Delhi Oil on canvas 100 x 81 cm - 39.4 x 31.9 in. the DiaMoND river No. 2 Oil on canvas 55 x 46 cm - 21.6 x 18.1 in.

08 09l’ÉClipse Oil on canvas 162 x 130 cm - 63.8 x 51.2 in. si tu t’iMagiNes fillette… Oil on canvas 65 x 50 cm - 25.6 x 19.7 in.

10 11MÉphisto ou la BeautÉ Du DiaBle Oil on canvas 160 x 210 cm - 63 x 82.7 in. les DeMoiselles D’avigNoN Oil on canvas 200 x 60 cm - 78.7 x 23.6 in.

12 13la Nuit Des rois No. 6 Oil on canvas 60 x 60 cm - 23.6 x 23.6 in. l’Île MystÉrieuse No. 2 Oil on canvas 55 x 46 cm - 21.6 x 18.1 in.

14 15l’ÉpÉe De DaMoClès Oil on canvas 130 x 97 cm - 51.2 x 38.2 in.

Bio-graphyPatrick BOUSSIGNAC

Selected group and Solo exhibitionS

2011 Galerie XS, Paris, France2010 Patrick Boussignac, Laurence Jenkell & Moz, Opera Gallery, Singapore2009 Francese pintores, Palma de Majorca, Spain2008 Taidegalleria Vuotinen, Finland2007 Tchernatovskaia Gallery, Moscow, Russia2006 Patrick Boussignac & Inbar Tolla, Opera Gallery, Singapore Russian and French Artists, Borabina Gallery, Russia2005 Mogador Theater, Paris, France2004 Opera Gallery, Singapore2003 Opera Gallery, New York2002 Kalenvankatu Gallery, Helsinki, Finland2001 Opera Gallery, Paris, France; Singapore; New York, USA2000 Opera Gallery, Paris, France; New York, USA1999 Glaz’Art, Paris, France Opera Gallery, Paris, France1998 Glaz’Art, Paris, France Opera Gallery, Paris, France; Singapore1997 Espace Cyril Varet, Paris, France1996 Galerie Monassier, Paris, France1995 Espace Lautrec, Paris, France1994 Unesco, Paris, France1993 Galerie Les Larmes d’Éros, Paris, France1992 Galerie Marie-Thérèse Cochin, Paris, France1991 Galerie Klam, Paris, France1989 Rinkeby Galeriet, Stocklom, Sweden1988 Kalenvankatu Gallery, Helsinki, Finland1987 Galerie Dyan-Coquant, Paris, France 1985 Lime Street Gallery, Boston, USA

otherS

Worked as a press illustrator for several French newspapers including Le Monde, Libération, Courrier International, Le Bien Public, as well as the Finnish Helsingin SanomatCo-author with Michel Thoss and illustrator of Brecht for Beginners, La Découverte, ParisCo-author with the philosopher Marc Sautet and illustrator of Nietzsche for Beginners, La Découverte, Paris

Born in 1956 in Villejuif, FranceLives and works in Ivry-sur-Seine, France

Salon d’Automne, Paris, FranceSalon Comparaisons, Paris, FranceSalon des Indépendants, Paris, FranceArt Osaka, Osaka, JapanSalon de Monaco, MonacoNew York Artexpo, New York, USA

Fonds Régional d’Art Contemporain, Paris, FranceSalon des Artistes de Millevaches, Millevaches, FranceSalon de Saint-Setiers, Saint-Setiers, FranceChicago Art Fair, Chicago, USAArt Show, Miami, USAHong Kong Art Fair, Hong Kong

Selected MuSeuM exhibitionS and art fairS

16 17

Lar-rieu

Jean-François Larrieu is a magician.

He wields his magic using colour and emotion.

And magic is indeed the word that fits to describe his sun-gorged paintings, his flamboyant, generous works overflowing with jubilatory yet contrasting vibrations.

Thanks to a unique alchemy of which he alone has the secret, the artist has imposed a style of his own, a signature.

What immediately grabs the spectator is the abundance of vibrating, bursting colour. But to really experience Larrieu, to extract the quintessence of his genius, one must let go and become totally immersed in the artist’s work. The spectator’s eye needs to roam, to abandon itself and flitter about the canvas. The artist invites the spectator on a fascinating journey into the depths of his exquisite, imaginary world. We must allow ourselves to be beckoned and surprised. A myriad of tiny elements punctuate his tableaus: so many characters from his personal universe, so many fables that we imagine as we are swept away by the tsunami of colours and motion that flirt with the almost sensual curves of make-believe landscapes.

The works of Jean-François Larrieu reflect his own image: generous, profound and warm.

As such, even in his representations of urban life where the rectitude of the buildings is so rigidly depicted, the intimately-linked colours that our eyes discover as we peek through the windows in the background pull us back into a special softness and warmth - a leitmotif throughout Larrieu’s work.

To admire this artist’s work is a unique experience, because it takes us to a never-never land where Larrieu alone has the key; a place where fairytales can, indeed, come true.

Yes, Larrieu’s work is an invitation to the land of daydreams.

Jean-FrançoisLARRIEU

ZaBeel park Acrylic on canvas 146 x 114 cm - 57.5 x 44.9 in.

18 19MaiN De fatiMa Acrylic on canvas 130 x 97 cm - 51.2 x 38.2 in.la Maquette Acrylic on canvas 92 x 73 cm - 36.2 x 28.7 in.

20 21la graNDe BaleiNe Acrylic on canvas 97 x 130 cm - 38.2 x 51.2 in.

22 23les palMiers Acrylic on canvas 140 x 140 cm - 55.1 x 55.1 in. New york By Night Acrylic on canvas 100 x 100 cm - 39.4 x 39.4 in.

24 25village eN fête Acrylic on canvas 146 x 114 cm - 57.5 x 44.9 in. love Acrylic on canvas 140 x 140 cm - 55.1 x 55.1 in.

26 27papilloN Acrylic on canvas 130 x 162 cm - 51.2 x 63.8 in. paysage D’ÉtÉ Acrylic on canvas 114 x 146 cm - 44.9 x 57.5 in.

28 29autoMNe Acrylic on canvas 100 x 100 cm - 39.4 x 39.4 in. arBre De vie Acrylic on canvas 162 x 130 cm - 63.8 x 51.2 in.

30 31

Born in 1960 in Tarbes, FranceLives and works between Paris and the Pyrénées, France

Since 2010 President of the Taylor Foundation, Parisfrom 1995 - 2004 President of the Salon d’Automne, Paris

awardS 1972 Grand Painting Prize from the Béarnais Museum, Pau, France 1989 International Contemporary Art World First Prize, Monte-Carlo

Selected MuSeuM exhibitionS and art fairS

Bio-graphyJean-François LARRIEU Selected group and Solo exhibitionS

2012 Reijinsha Gallery, Tokyo, Japan Beyond Wonderland, Opera Gallery, Seoul, Korea2011 Jean-François Larrieu Vs. André Monet, Opera Gallery, Hong Kong2010 Voyage voyage, Opera Gallery, Dubai Galerie Laetitia, Brie-Comte-Robert, France2009 Mediterranean breeze, Opera Gallery, Hong Kong Jean-François Larrieu & Fabienne Arietti, Opera Gallery, New York, USA Rhapsody, Opera Gallery, Singapore2008 Sport in Art, travelling exhibition in China on the occasion of the Beijing Olympic Games Métamorphose de l’âme, Opera Gallery, Seoul, Korea Jean-François Larrieu & Viviane Cisinski, Opera Gallery, Paris, France2007 Jean-François Larrieu & Walasse Ting, Opera Gallery, Singapore Jean-François Larrieu & Mark Kaplan, Opera Gallery, New York, USA Summer collection, Opera Gallery, Hong Kong2006 Jean-François Larrieu & Moz, Opera Gallery, New York Kelyne & Jean-François Larrieu, Opera Gallery, Hong Kong2005 Rétrospective, Jesuits Chapel, Chaumont, France Galerie Fardel, Le Touquet, France2004 Opera Gallery, Singapore Crown Plaza Arts Foundation, China, Korea, France2003 Opera Gallery, New York, USA Opera Gallery, Miami, USA Opera Gallery, Paris, France2002 Red Brick Gallery, Yokohama, Japan Art Yomiuri Gallery, Tokyo; Hiroshima; Kobe, Japan French Figurative Paintings, travelling exhibition, Seoul; Kwanju, Korea Opera Gallery, Paris, France2001 Opera Gallery, New York, USA Opera Gallery, Singapore Art Yomiuri Gallery, Kobe; Yokohama, Japan2000 Galerie Fardel, Le Touquet, France Art Yomiuri Gallery, Tokyo, Japan Bunkamura Gallery, Tokyo, Japan1999 Opera Gallery, Paris, France Opera Gallery, Singapore1998 Opera Gallery, Singapore Opera Gallery, Paris, France1997 Galerie Imagine, Bordeaux, France1996 Galerie l’Hippocampe, Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, France Galerie Fardel, Le Touquet, France1995 Galerie l’Hippocampe, Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, France1993 Galerie Le Breton, Paris, France Château de Joinville, Joinville, France1992 Galerie Dyan-Coquant, Paris, France1991 Dimension Art Center Gallery, Taipei, Taiwan Galerie LM, Epernay, France1990 Magna Gallery, New York, USA

RCM Art Museum, Nanjing, ChinaToday Art Museum, Beijing, China Musée Arturo Lopez, Neuilly-sur-Seine, FranceFoundation Santillana, Santander, SpainSursock Museum, Beyrouth, The LebanonModern Art Museum, Tokyo, JapanJosenji Temple, Tokyo, JapanInformal Museum Nakagawamura, Tokyo, JapanMusée des Beaux-Arts, Montbard; Bordeaux; Tarbes, FranceGarden Museum, Okinawa, JapanNational Museum of China, Beijing, ChinaZitan Museum, Beijing, ChinaBunkamura Museum, Tokyo, JapanTerrjin Salaria Event Space, Fukuoka, JapanNational Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, TaiwanTaipei Fine Arts Museum, Taipei, TaiwanKaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts, Kaohsiung, TaiwanLiu Haisu Art Museum, Shanghai, ChinaGuangzhou Academy of Fine Arts, Guangzhou, ChinaMuseum of Contemporary Art, Shanghai, ChinaSichuan Fine Arts Institute, Chongqing, China Salon d’Automne, Paris, FranceSalon Comparaisons, Paris, FranceArt Basel, SwitzerlandArt Palm Beach, USAAbu Dhabi Art Fair, UAEContemporary Art Biennale, Beijing, ChinaArténim Contemporary Art Fair, Nîmes, FranceEuro’ Art 98, Geneva, Switzerland

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