Bim Bam Gallery is pleased to present Simon Demeuter’s first solo show in Paris. This series of paintings on canvas draws its inspiration from one of the artist's favorite paintings, Game of Bowls (1908) by Henri Matisse. For Simon Demeuter, it gives off a feeling of purity mixed with a form of serenity. A serenity that the Belgian artist finds when he watches the bowlers play on the banks canal de l’Ourcq in Paris, the city where he now lives and works. Through the harmony of colors and the subtle strength of the compositions, “À l’Ombre des Arbres” summons this sensation of tranquility in each of the artist’s paintings.
Fascinated by this complex exercise of simplifying the movement, he looks for conciseness and accuracy in his lines, in a quest that stems from his graphic design studies at the École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Visuels de La Cambre, in Belgium. As the title of the exhibition indicates, the bowlers play in the sun, so the paintings are bathed in yellow. The heat and power of the light oscillate and translate the different moments of the day which takes place above the straw hats and carafes of Casanis.
“My childhood memories of trips to Italy to visit my mother’s family, where the landscapes and colors left a deep imprint, influence my work.”
The portraits are punctuated by small paintings evoking pétanque balls, where Demeuter allows chance to play its part into the compositions, recalling the work of Etel Adnan. She is an artist who touches him. He loves her poetry and her relationship with light. At the same time, the artist explores the genre of still life, immortalizing simple moments of sharing around a table, symbolized by the famous jugs of Casanis pastis. These paintings capture precious moments, memories of peaceful afternoons, highlighting the evocative power of objects over time.
Through this series, Simon Demeuter invites viewers to appreciate the richness of life's simple moments, to celebrate the strength of human bonds and to marvel at the discreet magic of everyday life. These paintings are a vibrant tribute to light and beauty of the present moment. They are the trace of a summer memory.
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