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ARTIST

Paul Bergignat

Поль Бержина

A French artist Paul Bergignat (b. 1954) was born near Lille and now lives in Cévennes. He graduated from the Higher National School of Applied Arts and Crafts in Paris. After receiving his diploma, he worked as a professional architect in Lyon, and Montpellier, while still continuing his practice as an artist. However, in 2006 he left architecture to devote himself to painting. He had exhibitions across the world in numerous galleries and museums since then, and in 2019 he held a retrospective called RÉMANENCES. 

 

Bergignat's landscapes are part of the search for transparency and light. He creates meditative images, as if frozen in time and space and uses a finely selected colour scheme and exquisite perspective. The master balances on a fragile edge of the transitional state of the soul, turning to the subconscious. 

 

The base for his paintings is canvas and wood. He admits a fascination with all things natural: “Essentially my method is as organic as everything in nature–starting from natural materials like linen, which I consistently use in all three stages of creating paintings. Besides that, I also choose the most ancient wood painting technique, known back in ancient Egypt — it gives beautiful effects.” 

 

The artist comments: “My creative process always starts with imagination. It is like my landscapes; it develops and ends just as slowly as timeless natural states between the real and the unreal. However, the main thing is the relationship between material and non–material. As an artist, I need to achieve this goal. This hard to define gray zone, located just between the figurative and the non–figurative."

 

To create lasting works, Paul works with materials that have been used by artists since the 15th century. Elastic oil paint allows you to create transparency by applying glazes, and linen canvas perpetuates the traditions of a classic work.