Matisse MESNIL

Matisse Mesnil is a visual artist born in 1989 who now lives and works in Paris, regularly traveling to Italy, his native country, to draw new ideas. He began his career as a set designer in cinema, a background that still permeates much of his creations today. His Italian origins are evident in his work, as he showcases popular iconographies and unfolds a universe inspired by his wanderings in the streets. Buildings, their ornaments, laundry hanging from balconies... all are motifs likely to catch the artist's attention. Through the treatment of these subjects, he brings into dialogue the notions of nature and culture, as well as those of frame and landscape.

Matisse Mesnil conducts experimental artistic research, questioning the concept of painting as a «window on the world », as defined by Alberti. He focuseson the frame, inspired byhis experience as a photographer, which led him to observe the world through a more restricted frame: that of the lens. The frame is alsoa form of opening in our experience of everyday life.

The artist exploresthe working of metal, seeing in it an intense « pictoriality ». For him, the marks on the metal are like scars, testimonies of the artist-object interaction. Usingindustrial processes such as welding or sharpening, Matisse Mesnil revisitslandscape and still life. He createsfabric patchworks, thus creating textile works inspired by aerial views.

We might also find this taste for textiles through the treatment of a subject like the clothesline. His recent creations aim to interact with the viewer and the environment, creatinggenuine stagings. The contrast between the industrial technique and the delicate subjects disorients the viewer and leads them to question.