Isabelle Zutter
ABOUT THE ARTIST
After taking a BAC in Fine Arts, she enrolled at CREAR, a graphic design school in Paris. She taught herself to paint. At the Musée Fabre, she made copies of paintings, and Montpellier painters such as Bazille and Cabanel entered her pantheon alongside Vélasquez, Sorolla, Manet and Courbet.
In 2010, she met François LEGRAND, Eric BARI and Christoff DEBUSSCHERE (official air force and navy painters), all of whom were introduced to the Etampes school by Philippe LEJEUNE. They marked a decisive turning point in his approach to painting.
Working alongside these painters, whom she admired, she found the keys she needed to develop her painting and give it a new dimension, made up of shapes, colours and light. They helped her to put into practice Maurice Denis's formula: "Remember that a painting, before being a war horse, a naked woman or some anecdote, is essentially a flat surface covered with colours in a certain assembled order".
HIS INSPIRATIONS
"It's often a detail that gets me going on a theme. I often do summer tables, scenes from aperitifs, family moments. I also like objects that tell a story, old chairs, antique linens, industrial furniture, damaged objects that have lived. I got the idea for the flea market scenes while walking around the Montpellier flea market.
Above all, I'm attracted by the light that falls on objects. Of course the narrative element is important, but above all it's a story that speaks to me. The proximity of complementary colours is also a trigger. My painting is above all a reflection of my state of mind.
"I'm from the south, and I'm open to the light. It's my partner in crime.
I love flirting with colours, seducing them. I love the cry of the sea, the voluptuousness of the beach, the whisper of a glass of wine in the corner of the sun, the velvet of shared desire, snuggling up in the hollow of a dream to prolong its intimacy, the instant of the pose and capturing its softness, the curves of chance that lead to the essential.
These moments of grace reflect a certain kind of freedom that is dear to me. I wanted to convey this in the works on display.
Isabelle Zutter
