“Where there is life, there are angels.”
It is these little snippets of dialogue – like this little sentence – that she chooses to offer to our eyes through her exhibition “Dialogue with Angels” at Galerie 13 Jeannette Mariani until June 12, 2010. These words suddenly seem to take on their full meaning as Anne Brunet seems to have been in close contact with them to be able to transcribe all their delicacy.
A dreamlike show where religion, weapons and women are mixed, Anne Brunet imposes on us an astonishing and very refreshing vision of serious themes such as death or the afterlife with a concern and a mastery of detail bordering on perfection. Far from being sinister and cold, her universe, mostly in black and white, is full of fantasy and softness for an artist who is all color. His real taste for color can be found in very colorful wallpapers in deep blue or greedy green, real cases for his paintings that sublimate them. Sometimes she allows herself a little red directly on her canvases but these few touches of color are always subtly integrated and do not distort the work.
Each of Anne Brunet’s messages is of unparalleled precision, full of gentleness and kindness, but with several levels of reading as her line shows great dexterity. Each work is in fact an assembly of small details that one discovers little by little while approaching it, small malice perfectly assumed by the artist and especially his distinctive sign. There is no better way to enter his bold universe than to enter his paintings. A way of not stopping at what is most visible, at what we see first, an invitation to go further to finally enrich our vision and go beyond the first impression.
Far from confining himself to the canvas as the only support, the artist has had carte blanche to make the Gallery 13 Jeannette Mariani the strongest means of expression of his imagination. ” There is real fulfillment in tapping into the imagination. This phantasmagorical universe allows me to extend my childhood a little more. In the imagination there are no barriers, no limits to explore nature, dreams … it is a world in constant change so exciting.“says Anne Brunet.
Her canvases sit alongside small white busts of angels or women that she has delicately tattooed with black ink with the same care and application as her paintings. Large monochrome frescoes on the wall or paintings on canvas, square poufs and coffee table entirely decorated by hand, and very colorful wallpapers, no support seems to be able to prevent the artist from delivering his message. There will be something for every taste and, above all, for every sensitivity.
Graphics close to tattooing, details of scales on sculptures or frescoes close to Japanese prints; romanticism purely gothic or manga full of delicacy, no label seems to be able to stick to the artist’s style. At the same time draughtswoman, illustrator and painter, she manages to bring them all together in a resolutely modern style full of personality.
As you enter the Gallery, you are immediately attracted by its altar “I LOVE YOU”, between religious devotion and homage to love. New burning chapel or modern representation of the Sacred Heart, this altar fascinates with its red crucifix that one would think was directly caught in the flames of this small black chimney serving as an altar which, on closer inspection, is also composed of small details between engraving and tattooing. Are we finally ready to celebrate the cult of love, do we accept the wounds caused by love?
In the windows, here and there, several of his “decorated” sculptures catch our eye. Between black ink tattoos and scales, the small details dressing these little angels “LOVE ME, HATE ME” – would it be a disguised reference to the night of the hunter? – or this woman’s head “OPEN YOUR EYES” recreate a skin suit as a protection against the cruelty of this world. Let’s take off the veil that covers our eyes and look at ourselves as we are, Anne seems to say.
Continuing, the young warrior girl of “SAVE ME” with the very manga aesthetic hypnotizes us very quickly on her black background like a shadow with her red eyes and her teddy bear. And yet, despite her gun, there is nothing threatening about her, just a call for help that could be seen as a way out of childhood.
But Anne Brunet’s talent explodes in the richest and strongest work of this exhibition, a splendid oil on canvas, one of the most brilliant vanities and a true demonstration of the artist’s know-how. Black and dark, it intrigues and one approaches to see better. And then, a lot of little details appear one by one. We are surprised to guess them, to recompose, to rethink this vanity by looking for symbols but especially by telling ourselves new stories. Here, birds appear instead of sinuses, angel wings are hidden in the bridge of the nose, but here, would it not be a heart at the base of the chin. And each of these details reveal others in turn making this painting fascinating, it is a real artistic puzzle. Is it because she wants people to appreciate her art that she simply named this painting “LOVE ME”?
The basement allows us to enter an even more dreamlike universe, closer to Japanese prints, where we find hand-decorated poufs and a wonderful coffee table filled with details to read and discover, and especially this spider web imprisoning the little Jesus who tells us to “MAKE BEAUTIFUL DREAMS”. This room speaks much more clearly about the vulnerability of women, between geisha women and false mermaids. “THE ANGELS” have women’s legs in stiletto heels and heads of carnivorous plants….
His work is of such a richness and finesse that I invite you to discover it at Galerie 13 Jeannette Mariani but also on the gallery’s website.
And if finally, it was her vulnerability that Anne Brunet expressed in this way? No, it’s simply her femininity that this young 28 year old artist is trying to explain to us for her first solo exhibition in Paris.
It is definitely my discovery of the year.
Photo Credit: © Eva Davier with the courtesy of Galerie 13 JM
Gallery 13 Jeannette Mariani
36 rue du Mont Thabor 75001 Paris. France. Tuesday / Saturday /11h00 /19h00
tel: +33 (0) 1 40 15 02 80 / +33 (0) 6 65 50 80 48
Marie-Odile Radom
Cette publication est également disponible en : Français (French)
