La Galerie, Fontvieille
20th April - 29th May 1991
Solo exhibition, 17 paintings shown
Pour sa réouverture, la Galerie de Fontvieille a choisi de vous présenter PAUL CRITCHLEY, un jeune peintre anglais de trente ans qui aprés l’Allemagne et l’Angleterre expose pour la première fois en France.
Artiste original, PAUL CRITCHLEY, l’est tout d’abord par sa façon si peu conventionnellle de choisir le format de ses toiles. D’ailleurs il ne choisit pas, c’est son sujet qui impose, qui définit le contour de ses oeuvres, elles possèdent ainsi de multiples côtés , certains parallèles, d’autres obliques, arrondis…
Et quels sont ces sujets qui bouleversent notre géométrie, nos habitudes? Des voyages. Des lentes dérives intimistes à l’iny´´rieur d’ue maison. Une maison telle que jamais vous n’en avez observée. L’oeil de PAUL CRITCHLEY balaie l’espace dans son entier, et au delà de l’apparent, il voit devant, derrière, dessus, dessous, dedans, il voit le jour pointer au carreau d’une fenêtre tandis que la nuit tombe dans l’entrebaillemant d’une poerte… Et ses escaliers redessinent l’espace, en réinventent la poésie.
La facture classique, rigoureuse, la parfaite maitrise de la perspective, du jeu de l’ombre et la lumière permettent à l’artiste de nous offrir des paysages intérieurs en tros dimensions, quatre même, puisque le temps est omniprésent dans l’oeuvre de PAUL CRITCHLEY, comme l’est l’humour, la distanciation, par d’infines détails, un décalage subtil, une nuance.
PAUL CRITCHLEY est un croisement joyuex de MAGRITTE et de HOPPER qui aurait vu tous les films d’HITCHCOCK.
YANN
For its reopening, the Galerie de Fontvieille has chosen to present PAUL CRITCHLEY, a young thirty-year-old English painter who, after Germany and England, is exhibiting in France for the first time.
PAUL CRITCHLEY is an original artist, first and foremost in the unconventional way he chooses the format of his canvases. In fact, he doesn't choose, it's his subject that imposes, that defines the contours of his works, so they have multiple sides, some parallel, others oblique, rounded...
And what are these subjects that upset our geometry and our habits? Journeys. Slow, intimate drifts inside a house. A house such as you have never seen before. PAUL CRITCHLEY's eye sweeps the entire space, and beyond the apparent, he sees in front, behind, above, below, inside, he sees daylight peeking through a window pane while night falls in a doorway... And his staircases redesign the space, reinventing its poetry.
The classical, rigorous style, the perfect mastery of perspective and the interplay of light and shadow allow the artist to offer us interior landscapes in three dimensions, four in fact, since time is omnipresent in Paul Crichley's work, as is humour and distancing, through infinite details, subtle shifts and nuances.
PAUL CRITCHLEY is a happy cross between MAGRITTE and HOPPER, who has seen all the films of HITCHCOCK.
Discovery of Originality
La Galerie de Fontvieille presents Paul Critchley primarily because these works are so unconventional in format. Moreover the format is not the arbitrary choice of the painter himself, it is his subject which dictates the shapes, giving them a definite form of many sides, with parallel, oblique or rounded edges.
What are the subjects of these paintings which upset our geometry and our conventions? - Explorations - slow, intimate journeys around the interior of a house, a house such as you have not seen before. Paul Critchley's eye sweeps the entire space and goes beyond the obvious, he sees the day rising through the window pane whilst the night falls in the half opened doorway ... And his staircases recreate space and re-invent its poetry.
The classic technique, rigorous in itself, the perfect mastery of perspective, the play of light and shade, enable the artist to give us interior landscapes in three dimensions or even four, since time is omnipresent in Paul Critchley's work, as is humour and a sense of remoteness, subtle shifts of emphasis and shades of meaning expressed through the exquisite detailing. Whilst indicating a familiarity with the films of Hitchcock these works reflect a happy and successful blend of Magritte and Hopper.
