PATOU’S BIO & ARTIST STATEMENT

– Spring 1958 : An artist was born from an American mother and a French father, raised in Monte Carlo.
– 1962 : I was painting, drawing as soon as I had a minute…
– 1965 : My art teacher, Mrs. Filippi, recommended I attend art classes in a studio setting after school ; I discovered Vincent Van Gogh.
– 1976 – 1980 : I attended an art studio, Pavillon Bosio, Ecole d’Arts Plastiques de Monaco.
– 1980 : I opened my own studio / workshops and started selling my paintings.
– 1986 : I started to travel to different countries besides Europe and the United States, like Africa, China (Hong Kong), Korea (Seoul), Thailand, Vietnam, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Mexico, and other islands in the Caribbean.
– 1988 : I met « Tiga », Jean Claude Garoute in Haiti. Minister of French Cultural Affairs and author André Malraux, came especially in Haiti to meet him because he was impressed by the « Saint Soleil » post naive school of Haitian painting.
– 1988 – 1990 : I participated in the Cultural Center in Petion-Ville, Haiti. I discovered the world of Abstract, inspired by « Tiga » and my influencers : Joan Mitchel, Zao Wou Ki, Motherwell etc.. leaving behind all kind of figurative forms.
– 1995 : I created a line of Fine Jewelry and designed a Cement Tiles collection made in Vietnam.
– 1999 : I created a line of Limited Edition furniture sold in the United States.
– 2006 : Opening of 2 art galleries in Miami and Fort Lauderdale (DCOTA).
– 2009 : Internet is a new fantastic tool, opening new ways to reach the public all over the world.

Exhibitions

– 1996 : Galerie du Metropole, Monte Carlo
– 1997 : Château de Cap d’Ail, France
– 1998 : Galerie du Park Palace, Monte Carlo
– 2000 : Temple Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
– 2001 : Kidder Smith Gallery, Boston, MA
– 2002 : Trajan Gallery, Carmel by the Sea, CA
– 2003 : Joyce Robins Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
– 2004 : Charles Campbell Gallery, San Francisco, CA
– 2005 : St. Thomas University, Miami, Fl
– 2006 : Fredrick Clement Gallery, New York, NY
– 2006 : Art Expo, New York, NY
– 2006 : Navta Schulz Gallery, Chicago, IL
– 2007 : Coldsprings Fine Art, Los Angeles, CA
– 2008 : ArtMiami, Miami, FL

IN DETAIL

As long as I can remember, I was a painter. From early on, I had no limits, no inhibitions. I understood the importance of working tirelessly on my art. For nearly 40 years I have done this, entering my studio every morning to follow a regimented routine. I firmly believe that no matter one’s passion, you must put the work in to continuously advance your talent and quality to establish yourself as a credible artist.

Drawing from a mood, perspective, or experience, recent or past, I begin painting each day with a vision. A blank canvas never instills fear, for I can see in my mind what I’m going to paint far before my tools are in my hands. Painting becomes the translation of my manner of thinking, reflecting and sharing my emotions. The result is exactly how I envisioned it, slightly different, or better, changing dramatically with every application of my palette knives, never brushes.

Bringing forth my vision initiates with one specific process: creating a custom color palette. Premium materials, specifically oil paints, support the creation of my colors and are paramount to making my palettes. A signature of mine, no two shades are ever the same, and each color is my own, even black and white. These colors never come directly from a tube. Instead, they are handcrafted, adding blue or red, for instance, to achieve my desired black or white. With my art, I know where I want to originate, where I want to go, and my colors are the starting, instrumental point in telling my stories.

What begins as a monologue between me and my medium becomes a visual conversation between the viewer and me. Through vision – color, calculation, balance, motion, and strokes – different forms take shape, achieving a palpable translation of emotion. This vision expands as I paint, for my mind awakes, and with each step in the process, I become more inspired. Nevertheless, throughout this time, I remain constant in my planned composition to reach what I seek for myself and the viewer.

Challenging but exciting to communicate through abstraction, it is nothing of an abstraction for me. I channel my sensitivity, achieving a natural beauty from my point of view, to reach my ultimate goal — the feelings of the observers. Each collection is not only an evolution of my work year after year, decade after decade. The collections evolve alongside my life experiences, both good and bad, as for everyone, melting together. I strive to attract and engage the viewer, subliminally encouraging them to make their interpretation of individual pieces, collections, or entire bodies of my work. My four collections include: “Circle of Life,” “Softsilk,” “Waterfall,” and “Milkyway.”

Expressing through my painting… I don’t know how to do otherwise. Because of this, “ART IS MAGICAL, WELCOME INTO MY WORLD,” became my motto.

COLLECTIONS

As of today, 2019, my four collections are:

• CIRCLE OF LIFE
• SOFTSILK
• WATERFALL
• MILKYWAY

Forever evolving, never final, here is a brief explanation about them.

I have, for a very long time, had a vision about my work. My four collections have a thread. Hopefully, I will be able to share with you this thread, the beginning of my vision, and I wish to be able to advance in that vision to express it more deeply.

Each collection is not only an evolution of my work year after year, decade after decade. The collections evolve alongside my life experiences, both good and bad, as for everyone, melting together. Throughout my time as an artist, I developed techniques which allowed me to progress in my vision. I like to go back to the collections, adding something I did not identify before, such as a new thought or viewpoint.

It would be akin to someone learning different languages and using them at different times in their lives. As one would learn more, one would be advancing along the road a more accurate, expanded vocabulary, verbs, and more; learning in fact, a better way to express oneself with more precision in this language. It is why I return to my collections: to continue these conversations. To me, they are ongoing, and I strive to attract and engage the viewer, subliminally encouraging them to make their interpretation of individual pieces, collections, or entire bodies of my work.

COLLECTIONS: FURTHER DISCUSSION

CIRCLE OF LIFE

Why the “Circle of Life?” Because it’s where we come from, where we are heading, but more importantly, where we are at the moment. The circle is perfect, perpetual, without beginning and no end, for eternity. The circle is us in this world, and it’s magical.

SOFTSILK

Continuing in the understanding of the Circle of Life is my “Softsilk” collection, which speaks to the soft part of the human being – gentle, beautiful human emotion.

WATERFALL

The “Waterfall” collection delves into the complexity of human emotion. It is a combination of the “Circle of Life” and “Softsilk” collections, as well.

MILKYWAY

“Milkyway” personifies us as the circle in the world among other planets in the cosmos, all connected in some way to the Milky Way.

Download Patou’s Bio & Artist Statement