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Lot Essay
‘I aimed to deconstruct the written character [...] and move away from narration. I wanted to enter within the structure of the character, certain that the deeper one moves within, the more one finds breath, emptiness as well as fullness, a vital matter crossing through space in a clear, fugitive, ephemeral movement bearing great poetry.’ - Fabienne Verdier
At the very core of Fabienne Verdier's painting is the relentless search for inner freedom as emptiness transpires through the fullness of the brushstroke. Her quest started in 1983, when she moved to China to study at the Sichuan Academy of Fine Arts, embarking on a ten-year apprenticeship with Master Huang Yuan. As a woman studying Chinese calligraphy, she patiently overcame the difficulties tied to a different culture, environment, language, and philosophy of life to embrace her inner-self and communicate her energy through the brush. It is only once she had mastered the art and power of traditional calligraphy that Verdier sought her own path and created her own unique language.
Verdier's practice of meditation and control of the breath effectively transpire in her painting Peinture du 12 novembre 2008 (Lot 045), where precise brushstrokes reveal her deep energy. Five panels constitute the painting, each canvas is carefully prepared with multiple thin layers of pigment applied using a screenprint method. This technique invented by the artist allows the canvas to capture light and colour in continuous movement. After careful study and deconstruction of the character ‘清 qing’, which embodies the concept of purity, the artist translates its movement onto the canvas to provide a powerful interpretation of the character.
‘A painting is no more than the fruit of the innermost experiences of the painter. The spirit, the flesh, the sensuality of the work reveal this truth to the world.’ (Fabienne Verdier)
At the very core of Fabienne Verdier's painting is the relentless search for inner freedom as emptiness transpires through the fullness of the brushstroke. Her quest started in 1983, when she moved to China to study at the Sichuan Academy of Fine Arts, embarking on a ten-year apprenticeship with Master Huang Yuan. As a woman studying Chinese calligraphy, she patiently overcame the difficulties tied to a different culture, environment, language, and philosophy of life to embrace her inner-self and communicate her energy through the brush. It is only once she had mastered the art and power of traditional calligraphy that Verdier sought her own path and created her own unique language.
Verdier's practice of meditation and control of the breath effectively transpire in her painting Peinture du 12 novembre 2008 (Lot 045), where precise brushstrokes reveal her deep energy. Five panels constitute the painting, each canvas is carefully prepared with multiple thin layers of pigment applied using a screenprint method. This technique invented by the artist allows the canvas to capture light and colour in continuous movement. After careful study and deconstruction of the character ‘清 qing’, which embodies the concept of purity, the artist translates its movement onto the canvas to provide a powerful interpretation of the character.
‘A painting is no more than the fruit of the innermost experiences of the painter. The spirit, the flesh, the sensuality of the work reveal this truth to the world.’ (Fabienne Verdier)