Jean-François Provost: Présages
Solo exhibition
Premiere: 23 October – 21 December 2014 Art-image gallery @ Maison de la culture de Gatineau, Quebec, Canada
22 January – 23 February 2016 Maison de la culture Ahuntsic-Cartierville, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
The paintings are inspired by images of small solar system bodies obtained by space probes, including Rosetta’s images of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko and the (21) Lutetia asteroid.
Visual artist Jean-François Provost takes a break from his usual practice and looks at a natural phenomenon that is of particular concern to him: the real possibility that a geo-cruising asteroid collides with the Earth.
The artist was captivated by the images of asteroids floating in a totally black space, in an absolute void. He is seduced by the beauty of these celestial bodies, but also by the calm and disturbing silence that emanates from them. According to him, asteroids, both beautiful and fascinating, give us food for thought about our history, our collective and individual future and order a break in our frantic lives.
Text from the exhibition page (translated from French): http://w8.gatineau.ca/artimage/expositions/passees/jean-francois-provost.html
(25143) Itokawa, oil and acrylic on canvas, 2014, 96’ X 72’
Jean-François wrote: “My current work, which is diametrically opposed to my usual, abstraction-oriented work, addresses the threat of asteroids to humanity and questions the connection that the announcement of an asteroid impact that could cause a global catastrophe could have on our life. Far from being fatalistic, this theme is a sort of vibrant advocacy for life and mindfulness.”
(243) Ida, oil and acrylic on canvas, 2014, 72’ X 96’
“Over the past 600 million years, the Earth has experienced five mass extinctions that caused half of the world's plant and animal species to disappear almost simultaneously. These extinctions are due to asteroid impacts. Impacts that have allowed human life to develop. Asteroids have fascinated us since the dawn of time. Many civilizations considered them to be divinities or messages from God, sometimes as omens. Many artists have represented stars or shooting stars in their works, including Albrecht Dürer. Asteroids and comets brought life to Earth.” – JFP
(253)Mathilde, oil and acrylic on canvas, 2014, 96’ X 72’
“These magnificent and fascinating celestial bodies give us food for thought about our collective and individual future and call for a stop in our frantic lives. Are we ready for the announcement of an asteroid impact? The answer is no, of course. But if we were told that this was the case, what would be our reaction? Sooner or later, scientists predict that an asteroid will strike the Earth.
According to Edward Lu, a former NASA astronaut and founding member of the B612 Foundation, most large asteroids with the potential to destroy an entire country or continent have been detected. However, this hardly represents 10,000 of the one million potentially dangerous asteroids capable of destroying a large metropolitan area.” – JFP
(4179)Toutatis, oil and acrylic on canvas, 2014, 96’ X 72’
“Are we fully aware of our fast-paced life, of the seasons that follow one other at a crazy pace? According to Buddhism, it would be in our interest to become aware of the concept of impermanence to live the sense of urgency that should animate us.” – JFP
Phobos, oil and acrylic on canvas, 2014, 96’ X 72’
“How do we envision our future? Are we happy? And our current life? Have we become what we wanted? etc. These reflections transcend the subject himself and control, oblige in a way, a time to stop, thus pushing reflection and reasoning to the depths of our being. The human race must sometimes be confronted with its own fears or with itself so that profound changes may occur.
Far from being fatalistic, such a reflection brings us back to true values, the essence of life, its fragility and the urgency of living.” – JFP
Tchourioumov-Guérassimenko, oil and acrylic on canvas, 2014, 96’ X 72’
“The idea of an exhibition about asteroids came to me one day when I came across a photo of the asteroid Lutetia. This photo marked me deeply, and I later did more research to discover equally impressive images of other asteroids. I was fascinated by the beauty of these celestial bodies, but also by the calm and silence that emanates from them. A worrying silence, I would say.
So I began to draw these objects in compressed charcoal, using a technique in which you subtract charcoal with an eraser to reveal light areas and volumes. The works that will be presented for this exhibition will be large format canvases of real asteroids known to astrophysicists and to science. Some are NEOs (Near-Earth Objects), that is to say that they cross, at one time or another in their revolution, the orbit of the Earth or, at least, can pass very close and carry risks.” – JFP
(21) Lutetia, oil and acrylic on canvas, 2014, 96’ X 72’
“Since 2007, my work is moving towards a purification of pictorial space. This thread has become, over time, a second nature, a state that underlies my work. The artwork must breathe. Do more with less. Thinking of it, it is not by chance that I was subjugated by these images of asteroids floating in a totally black space, in a vacuum. That's where the purification is. In the minimalist images of asteroids. The reproduction of asteroids with charcoal and then on canvas comes to some extent close my inner debate on purification. It is a form of personal conclusion.” – JFP
Étude pour (21) Lutetia, oil and acrylic on canvas, 2014, 40 X 48 cm
“The soundtrack made by Alain Larose, which accompanies the exhibition, plunges us into a 24-hour day. It evokes in 24 minutes, one minute for every hour of the day, the tumult of everyday life in the four corners of the planet.” – JFP
Born in Ottawa in 1976, Jean-François Provost holds a Bachelor's degree in Visual Arts from the Université du Québec en Outaouais. He has received several awards and honors for his work as a painter and has produced nearly twenty individual exhibitions in the last ten years. His work in painting and drawing has been presented in Canada, Austria and Italy. The works of Provost are found in several corporate and private collections in Canada, the United States, Europe and the Middle East.
Drawing, is for him a gestural manifestation of the subconscious, plays a decisive role in the composition of his canvases. Provost says that since 2007 he has been exploring pictorial space in his work, in a process of constant refinement. “My approach to both drawing and painting goes far beyond straightforward execution. The drawings, in India ink, graphite, and red chalk, are produced in a stream of consciousness and are then cut out. Paradoxically, they become the embryo of a work that is constructed using a highly studied and rational approach that follows the logic of my investigation of space and its simplification. My work is mainly based on the study of composition in terms of line, depth, relationships between masses, gestures, and trompe-l’oeil”. Provost basically defines himself as a Plasticien.
Biography by Jo-Anne Bouchard, Ph.D -- Art Historian
More about Jean-François Provost at: www.jeanfrancoisprovost.com
