Emmanuel Gonnet

Steps  Emmanuel Gonnet

Each painter has his own obsession. For me, it is “the trace” that pushes me and directs me. In the people I meet, in the landscapes crossed, in the scars made on objects, the traces are visible and are signs of past life, of conflict, of happiness. My paintings are made of layered stories that overlap, contradict or sing in harmony.

My work always speaks of traces that persist: psychological (joy, fear, anger, delight…) but also ecological (sea, sky, water, earth…) and of course cosmic (space, spirituality…). Beneath the painted materials emerge other worlds which are the traces of other worlds… ad infinitum! Art is, for me, a door that allows access to unknown worlds where the dimensions are no longer the same: I can enter a grain of sand or travel in the cosmos. When I paint, often my hand anticipates what I have seen and if the result is in agreement, I let it be because I know that it knows better than me where to go. Accidents, in painting, are the crossroads where you have to choose: on the one hand simplicity and recognized technique, on the other questionable mixtures that take you where you do not know. What state of mind, what mood today will guide my choice? Finally, once done, painting no longer concerns me. She can fall asleep in a box or be appreciated and cherished by a watchful eye and her energy will unfold again. It's his own destiny, not mine.

Emmanuel Gonnet