Ecstatic Nature by Tarik Chebli by EMERGEAST

TARIK CHEBLI ECSTATIC NATURE 21 March－25 April 2021

www.emergeast.com

Ecstatic Nature 21 March－25 April 2021 Inaugurating our virtual exhibition space is Algerian-French artist, Tarik Chebli’s solo show, Ecstatic Nature. Tarik Chebli’s exhibition offers a gateway into a mystical underworld of ethereal nature. Characterised by heavily textured acrylic paint, his landscapes give way to an underworld of virgin terrain. As Tarik says, “I am fascinated by the mysticism of nature. There is something inﬁnite about the secrets and diversity of it, it reassures me.” His multidimensional layering enables him to oscillate between serene landscapes and abstract shapes, allowing the eyes to momentarily evoke a sensory experience into an abyss of both utopia and escapism. 1

Born in Nantes, France in 1993, Tarik Chebli is an Algerian-French artist whose powerful works brought him international, solo, and group shows. Currently based in Nantes, Tarik has lived and worked between Paris and Berlin since obtaining his master’s degree in Plastic Arts research from the University of Rennes 2 in 2018. Tarik Chebli’s heavily textured works offer a gateway into a mystical underworld of ethereal nature and virgin terrain. 2

“Shikogabana came to me as an idea when one night I slept in my studio and got sick from the pungent smell of paint. I began to paint in my head and vividly saw the colours and textures. This work was inspired by a lake in Northern Japan with ﬁsh swimming in the clear water. It’s a heavenly representation of a perfect world where man has no place to disturb or destroy nature’s wonders. As Henri Matisse said, ‘I want my paintings to comfort the tired man coming home from work’.” Shikogabana, Acrylic on canvas, 150x130 cm, 2020. Sold.

Turtle & Chameleons, Acrylic on canvas, 150x130 cm, 2020, USD 4500.

“With family in the city of Oran, I went to Algeria many times, but not as often as I’d like. Simply because it’s a beautiful country, I wanted to paint it - the earthly colours; red, orange, and brown, and the exotic palm trees. Algeria is not represented enough. And to me, it’s up to the artist to show the world the beauty of a country.”

Algeria, Acrylic on canvas, 120x120 cm, 2021, USD 4300.

I like to pour liquid paint on a canvas while it’s on the ground, sometimes by liters. The thickness of matter comes sneaking in when the acrylic paint meets the water and dilutes in it. As it dries, the bright colours emerge beautifully. － Tarik Chebli

“This painting was inspired by the Netﬂix documentary, My Octopus Teacher. I was fascinated by the friendly relationship between the octopus and the main character, Craig Foster. This is yet another example of our ignorance of nature, but it is also a message of hope to learn from people like Craig who are capable of developing sensitivity and greater awareness towards nature and its animals..” Octopus and Sea Urchins, Acrylic on canvas, 127x107 cm, 2021, USD 4000.

What’s more mysterious than the abyss, which is synonymous with secrets, darkness, and immensities? － Tarik Chebli

Shikogabana II, Acrylic on canvas, 122x109 cm, 2021, Sold.

To me, nature is something higher. What is not human, what is not artiﬁcial. Painting nature is like the rejection of the stress of this world, of this human drama. When I look at nature, I destress, I feel happy. I see the divine in nature. － Tarik Chebli 10

“I chose Naisque monkeys because they are rare, strange, and mysterious, they only exist in the Borneo Island in Southeast Asia. They have a huge nose that seems ridiculous but paradoxically, I think they have a form of class, of standing. I found them beautiful and magical. They represent to me the diversity of nature, the inﬁnite possibility of nature. In nature, you see something divine, it’s reassuring. By believing something higher, it makes me feel less alone.” Naisques Kingdom, Acrylic on canvas, 120x120 cm, 2020, USD 4500.

To me, nature is something higher. What is not human, what is not artiﬁcial. Painting nature is like the rejection of this stress of this world, of his human drama. When I look at nature, I destress, I feel happy. I see the divine in nature. － Tarik Chebli 12

“The figurative shape gives the sense to the abstract shape. For example, if you have a green area that is abstract, that doesn’t mean anything, then you have a butterfly next to it, the green area will then look like a leaf maybe, or something vegetative.” Water Lilies & Dragonflies, Acrylic on canvas, 105x120 cm, 2021, Sold.

Water lilies on the horizon. How many dragonflies? How many small creatures moving, feeding, reproducing, or performing a bridal dance? This landscape covered with aquatic plants allows me to recreate an impression of infinity, of the infinite possibilities of nature. － Tarik Chebli

Avalanche Submarine, Acrylic on canvas, 150x100 cm, 2020, USD 3300.

“My painting oscillates between the pleasure of manipulating materials and that of the reproduction of ﬁgures. I seek a certain beauty, that of tensions, discrepancies, that of plastic acrylic paint that transforms into organic substance.” Grey Lake, Acrylic on canvas, 106x82 cm, 2020, Sold.

“I like mist. It gives the impression that you’re in a dream. It’s so mysterious because you can’t see through it. But at the same time, it’s scary, because you don’t know what’s behind it. I think it evokes a lot of different emotions and sensations. As for the bamboo plants, I ﬁnd them strange in an intriguing way. I enjoy using them to create depth in the composition, placing some in the foreground and some in the background. Bamboo, Acrylic on canvas, 120x120 cm, 2021, USD 4200.

“The mangroves fascinate me. There are a lot of places that are not known even though countless of species live there. It was even discovered that blind dolphins live in these murky waters. These places, for me, are the representation of the last of wild and virgin lands that man has not yet destroyed. These landscapes reassure me and give me hope. If these places are still preserved it is because of the mosquitos, the protectors of this place, that make the mangroves uninhabitable for humans.”

Mangrove, Acrylic on canvas, 120x120 cm, 2021, USD 4500.

The sense of mystery is to always be in equivocation, in double, triple aspects, suspicions of appearance, forms that are going to be, or that will be, depending on the viewer’s state of mind. All things are more suggestive than they appear. － Odilon Redon

“This painting depicts the adaptation of animals into a complex wild world. The young orangutan monkey has to remain with his mother for 10 years to learn about the forest and to be able to survive. For example, the mother will show her child which fruit he can eat and which animals to stay away from. In this piece, the De Brazza’s monkey is staring deeply at us into the night of the jungle. The monkey, for me, is a symbol of the mystery of nature, as he explores his world, tries to learn, to adapt, and to live in symbiosis with his environment.”

De Brazza’s Monkey, Acrylic on canvas., 120x120 cm, 2021, USD 4500.

“Liepnitzsee is the name of the lake in North Berlin in Germany. I travelled there in the winter of 2018. It was a special time, the beginning of the frost. The greenness was still alive even when the lake was frozen. I admired the colours. We could see the greenery of the plants under the water, even through the layers of frost.”

Liepnitzsee,, Acrylic on canvas, 116x150 cm, 2021, USD 4500

This work was a turning point in the way I approached painting. I realized that the combination of channeled madness and spontaneity with a thoughtful and deﬁned plan adds an extra layer of depth to my paintings. － Tarik Chebli

TARIK CHEBLI ECSTATIC NATURE 21 March－25 April 2021