Our artist friends
Olivier Masmonteil, "Révélation", Oil on canvas, 250 x 160 cm, Charbonnel Boutique, Paris, 2022.
At the launch of the Rencontres Artistiques, at Charbonnel in Paris, home of the French brands of the Colart Group (Conté à Paris 1795, Lefranc Bourgeois 1720 and Charbonnel 1862), Olivier Masmonteil presented his painting Révélation, which he created especially to infuse our boutique gallery with his colourful, screen-printed imprint, thus inscribing his long-term attachment to the Lefranc Bourgeois team.
This fascinating oil on canvas in a monumental format reveals the imperative need for anchoring and elevation, combining an explosion of colours and contemplative calm.
The universal "Revelation" is aligned with the ambition to demystify oil painting, to reveal to the world more than 300 years of history in colour, but also to make the potential and talents of each individual shine through the emotional encounter with the artist's sublime work.
OLIVIER MASMONTEIL
Olivier Masmonteil is a French painter, graduate of the École des Beaux-Arts in Bordeaux. As an artist and globetrotter, he has made several trips around the world, and has put on his canvases the landscapes of the places he visits. He collaborates in the activities of the association La Source founded by Gérard Garouste.
In 2002 he was awarded the Coffim Foundation Painting Prize and in 2015 the Art Collection Prize in France. His inspiration comes from iconic canvases, and springs forth in a poetic, lyrical flight, crossing time and space, letting the magic of colours work through his bold creativity.
Sharing with Lefranc Bourgeois a strong philosophy, combining academicism and pioneering creative passion, Olivier appeared as an obvious choice to launch the ritual of artistic encounters.
For several years now, driven by common values, the artist and the brand have been mutually inspired, and with great pleasure.
JENNYFER GRASSI
Jennyfer Grassi lives and works in Paris. She started painting at the age of 11 with a Lefranc Bourgeois oil paint box given to her by her father and continued her apprenticeship at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris.
During her numerous exhibitions, she works in particular on subjects around an exuberant, even threatening nature and with bright and luminous colours.
YOANN MERIENNE
Yoann Merienne was born at the end of the 80s in Haute-Savoie, and now lives and works in Lyon.
From an early age, he draws and paints. He participated in the Walloon International Art Competition, where he received the gold medal. After graduating in Industrial Design, he devoted himself to the work of light and shadow, giving his works an extraordinary relief.
Adept of our oil painting, he works the shadows, gives depth and digs the volumes by small touches of white, black then blue to sculpt the light.
JAMES MACKEOWN
An Irish artist who has lived in France for over 25 years, he knows that he could never "live far from the sea". His paintings often feature the landscapes of Normandy and Brittany where he has made his home.
A painter of light, James links intimacy to immensity with great sensitivity. He exhibits every year in numerous galleries in France, but also in England, Ireland and Switzerland.
His contemplative and benevolent nature is revealed in his paintings which, despite their impromptu appearance, reveal an extreme mastery of colour and spontaneous movement.
James describes himself as a "painter of intimacy", conveying the wonder of the present moment, in the softness of the home and the ever-changing atmosphere of the seaside landscape.
ENZO CERTA
Enzo Certa, partly of Italian origin, began studying art restoration, but he was not really interested.
He then decided to enter the School of Fine Arts in Caen and finished his studies at the Beaux-Arts in Paris in 2019.
After a residency in London and two exhibitions, he is now working on new projects. Influenced by Flemish baroque painting, his work links "great painting", humour and everyday events.
JON ONE
John Perello was born in Harlem in 1963. He began graffitiing on trains and walls in his neighbourhood, and then throughout New York City.
He then travelled to Paris, where he collaborated with French artists such as Bando.
In the 1980s, he moved away from Graffiti and turned to abstraction. In his studio, where he uses oil paint and Flashe Lefranc Bourgeois to create works where he represents speed and movement.
Oil paint is an ideal medium because it allows him to create texture and material effects.
Street art has always been an important part of his creative process, and the graffiti of the New York underground remains a source of inspiration.
NATACHA IVANOVA
Natacha Ivanova was trained in the major Russian art schools.
Her work has been largely influenced by C.G. Jung, a psychiatrist working on the study of dreams.
In her works she combines mythological and historical tales with personal memories.
