ALEXANDRE MOTTE

ALEXANDRE  MOTTE, a painter, an artist.

Born in 1961
Trained in Art at the Institut Saint Luc in Tournai, Belgium, followed by studies in interior and architectural design
Based in Brittany, France, for over 25 years
A member of the Maison des Artistes since 1989
A specialist in fine figurative art, particularly still life

Alexandre Motte is a native of the region which centres on Lille in north-eastern France. As a young man he undertook studies in art and related subjects in nearby Belgium. His geographic roots and artistic education have shaped a highly individualised and disciplined approach to artistic endeavour, resulting in exactingly crafted paintings/etchings, combined with an attuned sensitivity towards his subject matter.

His figurative art is without affectation, yet rich in symbolic values and meaning. His canvases make careful use of the interplay between all shades of colour; his uses of the brush, whether bold or delicate, result in moving counterpoints of light, dark and shade.

His work is masculine – in the French connotation of that word – with respect to his method of working, not least his complexly crafted, multi-layered oil paintings. Alongside that, there is a ‘feminine’ touch to the themes and subjects he chooses to explore, particularly evident in his most recent work. All in all, one discovers in his paintings a combination of power and forcefulness alongside a sublime, almost poetic, sensibility and grace.

In a troubled and baffling world, Alexandre’s canvases present us with freeze-frame images of everyday things which, whether viewed singly or collectively, invite us to reflect. Seemingly simple narratives reach us in the here-and-now, yet are invariably possessed of a transcendent quality. Some of his still life paintings comprise dramatic set-pieces where form and content battle with and/or complement each other. Others attend to social themes involving exchange, fairness and equity. More recently the focus has shifted to the ‘symbol of the rose’ wherein the themes of love and loving are explored and elaborated.

An observation by Robert Wallace about Rembrandt is not without relevance to Alexandre’s work in all of this: ‘He uses the ordinary elements of the universe in order to fathom the mysteries of the soul and the mind.” Or to quote Fabrice Midal, writing about Rilke: ‘Poetry (in art) seeks to make each and every ordinary thing resonate with an intensity peculiar to itself.’

Alexandre has been living in Dinard for many years now. His workshop-gallery is itself a work of art. This gallery is open to all who appreciate good painting.  For those who wish to see at first hand the talent of one of the region’s foremost artists, a visit to the gallery is a ‘must’.