“Since Antiquity, the image of flower has been associated with a double and ambivalent symbolism. Forewarning of the future growth of fruits, the flower is a symbol of hope as well as an homage to the richness and beauty of Nature, whose cycle infinitely repeats. But as it withers, the flower can express the fragility of human existence and the inanity of earthly possessions, therefore engaging a reflexive relation with the idea of our own death. To contemplate a vanitas is a sweetish reminder that convinces us of the emergency there is in seizing the moment. With fervor and meticulousness, generations of artists – 17th century Flemish painters ahead, have taken hold of this inexhaustible subject, engaging themselves at times in precise studies after nature or sometimes at more expressive and fanciful compositions. Since the beginning of his career, Gaël Davrinche’s path has been guided by the will to be in line with an artistic lineage. Permeated by the work of the great masters that preceded him as well as traditional pictorial genres, he continually draws in History the substantific marrow that will feed his own practice. Davrinche’s ‘Nocturnes’ series is inspired by the tradition of still life in the 17th century Flemish painting. The artworks use the traditional codes of clair-obscur and straightaway offer to the eye a stunning contrast between the realistic rendering of the colorful flowers and the darkness of backgrounds that materialize a good environment for mystery. Some hints of light add to the preciousness of these compositions in which flowers seem true natural jewels. Symbolically, we are reminded of the ephemeral character of life, its fragility too. The very term of « nocturnes » evokes night, a temporality related to dreamstates, an era of the poetic and the sensitive. But it also evokes a classical musical form, typical of Romanticism.” Gaël Davrinche is a French painter born in 1971, he lives and works in Montreuil, FR. His work is exhibited mostly in Europe and Asia, both in art galleries or institutions.
© Gaël Davrinche | Artist Biography, Artworks & Gallery | http://www.davrinche.com
