Monographie - Cédrix Crespel

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1 / "GmSNBUJPO MBTTJWF, 2001 2 / $BDIF QVEFVS, 2001 3 / -FT GFNNFT FU MFVST BTTJTFT, 2001 4 / 5JQIBJOF, 2001 5 / 7JTJPO E VO ,MJNU, 2001 6 / "VUPQPSUSBJU, 2002 7 / %FTJHO, peinture, 2002 8 / %PT EF GFNNF, 2002 9 / 'FNNF MB (PWFMMF, 2002 10 / 0VJ, 2002 11 / 1PVS EF M BSHFOU, 2002 12 / 4FVMF, 2002 13 / 4PNNFJM BHVJDIFVS, 2002 14 / %PPST, 2003 15 / &ODPSF TFVMF, 2003 16 / - PGGSF, 2003 17 / - PS FTU Ë QPSUÏF EF NBJO, 2003 18 / /BSDJTTF, 2003 19 / 7PMBHF, 2003 20 / 8BTIJOH, 2003

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21 / Blonde, 2004 22 / Chambre jaune, 130x97, 2004 23 / Entre, 130x89, 2004 24 / Ex-Nihilo, 97X130, 2004 25 / Hotel, 97X130, 2004 26 / In bed, 120X120, 2004 27 / Light show, 162X130, 2004 28 / Lit jaune, 2004 29 / Nuit rouge, 146X97, 2004 30 / Pour jouer, 162X130, 2004 31 / Sdb, 130x97, 2004 32 / Table rose, 81X116, 2004 33 / Table rouge, 146x114, 2004 34 / Téléphone rouge, 130x197, 2004 35 / Wait, 116x89, 2004 36 / Blue, 89X146, 2005 37 / Chambre rose, 162X130, 2005 38 / Eames, 116x89, 2005 39 / Le ménage par le vide, 130X89, 2005 40 / Oeuf rouge, 89X130, 2005

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41 / 4p, 155X230, 2006 42 / Again Eames, 97X130, 2006 43 / Ange bleu, 120X120, 2006 44 / Autoportrait, 130X97, 2006 45 / Bas sur mer, 130X97, 2006 46 / Basculant, 130X195, 2006 47 / Ce qui aurait du être, 120X120, 2006 48 / Chandelier, 130X97, 2006 49 / Club, 97X130, 2006 50 / Comme une prière, 130X97, 2006 51 / Descente, 97X130, 2006 52 / Dessous de table, 146X114, 2006 53 / Dessus de lit, 114X146, 2006 54 / Escalier, 162X130, 2006 55 / Femme bleue, 130X97, 2006 56 / Foot, 97X130, 2006 57 / Frange noire, 97X130, 2006 58 / Give i give you, 162X130, 2006 59 / Green girl, 146X114, 2006 60 / Green kiss, 162X130, 2006 61 / Jaune porte, 130x97, 2006

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537 523 / Elle y croix, 134X119, 2018 524 / En route pour la joie, 146X114, 2018 525 / Feel back, 151X189, 2018 526 / Femme es tu là, 158X120, 2018 527 / La trêve, 146X114, 2018 528 / Madame rêve, 146X114, 2018 529 / Open bra, 130X97, 2018 530 / Cocotte, 173X140, 2018 531 / Don’t laugh, 130X161, 2018 532 / TC are my initials, 162X130, 2018 533 / I am your venus, 162X130, 2018 534 / Ma prairie, 130X195, 2018 535 / En secret, 130X195, 2018 536 / Pieds et mains liés, 146X114, 2018 537 / Red Y, 115X138, 2018 538 / She is Sidonie, 162X130, 2018 539 / Solitaire, 130X97, 2018 540 / Sous la lumière, 146X114, 2018 541 / Your place is my place, 162X130, 2018

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Some encounters impress you more than others. I can personally think of one that happened on an airplane bound for New York, the city where I used to live at the time. Bored and uncomfortable on my seat, I decided to stand up and walk to the rear of the cabin to stretch my legs. There, I found several QBTTFOHFST TJQQJOH UIFJS ESJOLT BOE OJCCMJOH TPNF TOBDLT *O UIF NJEEMF PG UIFN B GSJFOEMZ mGUZ ZFBS PME man, who looked a bit like a British dandy, started talking to me.

After a few pleasantries, we started —I still do not know why— to consider our respective lives.

I listened carefully. It was intimate talk. He was a Canadian photographer who, free of compromise, had quite radically dedicated his life to art. Of course, in that matter, we understood each other. He shared with me his incredible experiences and the passion with which he carried out his work. He also mentioned his doubts and the choices he had some times been forced to make. I felt like we had known each other forever. Even his humour (fairly rare in North America) seemed familiar. We laughed at the same TPNFUJNFT SJEJDVMPVT UIJOHT 8F DBNF GSPN UXP DPNQMFUFMZ EJGGFSFOU XPSMET BOE ZFU * DPVME SFMBUF UP IJN * DPVME GFFM IJT DPNNJUNFOU IJT UIJSTU GPS FWPMVUJPO 5IJT ZFBS PME NBO BU UIF QFBL PG B TVDDFTTGVM career, spoke of art with the excitement of a child and the humility of an artisan. He was infected with the virus of language. I wanted that stranger to become my friend. I wanted the conversation to last forever. )PXFWFS PVS QMBOF XBT BCPVU UP MBOE BU +', BJSQPSU BOE B nJHIU BUUFOEBOU JOWJUFE VT UP SFUVSO UP PVS seats.

I have always wondered if his photographs would have appealed to me. What brought us so close together at the back of that plane during those three long hours of discussion had probably little to do with his work. Nonetheless, I do believe that it would have touched me and that I would have seen in it the same sincerity, passion and uniqueness that I found in his words. Ten years have passed and I still think of this meeting. That stranger has somehow slightly changed my life. For some unknown reason, that stranger has moved me deeply. If I tell you this story, it is because that total stranger from the other side of the world could perfectly have been Cédrix Crespel. Indeed, the painter exudes the same kind of bonhomie I found in the photographer. His forthright and sincere personality asks for respect. Indeed, despite the clear aesthetic concerns that can be found in his art, Cédrix is characterised by his way of establishing relationships with things, people and art. A way that can only be understood through his absolute truthfulness. He is a man of commitment who knows the value of history, the meaning of that movement that connects yesterday with tomorrow according to the content of the present moment.

Generosity, intensity and loyalty... The tough (yet complete) Breton always manages to steal a piece of our hearts. I could therefore not refuse the invitation of signing this preface. These words are dedicated to the painter of course, but primarily to the friend whom I bear in my heart at all times.

TILT

Certaines rencontres nous marquent plus que d’autres. Il m’en revient une, à l’arrière d’un avion qui me ramenait à New York, ville où j’habitais à l’époque. Le temps me paraissait long et le siège inconfortable. Je me suis donc levé pour aller m’étirer au fond de l’appareil. Quelques passagers y QSPmUBJFOU EFT SBGSBÔDIJTTFNFOUT UPVU FO HSJHOPUBOU M VO PV M BVUSF BNVTF CPVDIF 1BSNJ FVY VO IPNNF d’une cinquantaine d’années, au style dandy anglais, d’apparence plutôt sympathique, se mit à me parler.

Après quelques banalités d’usage, nous avons commencé – je ne sais toujours pas pourquoi – à considérer nos vies respectives. Je l’ai longuement écouté. Nous touchions l’intime. Il était Canadien, photographe, avait dédié sa vie à l’art, de manière assez radicale, sans concession. Évidemment, en ça, OPVT OPVT DPNQSFOJPOT *M NF DPOUBJU TFT FYQÏSJFODFT JODSPZBCMFT MB QBTTJPO BWFD MBRVFMMF JM FYFSÎBJU TPO NÏUJFS NBJT BVTTJ TFT EPVUFT FU MFT DIPJY RV JM BWBJU Eß QPTFS Ë DFSUBJOT NPNFOUT + BWBJT M JNQSFTTJPO EF MF DPOOBÔUSF EFQVJT UPVKPVST .ÐNF TPO TFDPOE EFHSÏ QFV GSÏRVFOU FO "NÏSJRVF EV /PSE NF QBSBJTTBJU GBNJMJFS /PVT BSSJWJPOT Ë SJSF EFT NÐNFT DIPTFT QBSGPJT BCTVSEFT /PVT WFOJPOT EF EFVY mondes complètement différents, et, pourtant, je me retrouvais en lui. Je pouvais sentir son engagement, sa soif d’évolution. Du haut de ses 50 ans et perché sur une carrière conséquente, il parlait d’art avec M FYDJUBUJPO EF M FOGBOU FU M IVNJMJUÏ EF M BSUJTBO -F WJSVT EV MBOHBHF þ + BVSBJT BJNÏ RVF DFU JODPOOV TPJU NPO BNJ + BVSBJT BEPSÏ RVF DFUUF EJTDVTTJPO TF QPVSTVJWF ÏUFSOFMMFNFOU .BJT OPVT OPVT BQQSÐUJPOT Ë descendre sur JFK et une hôtesse nous invita à retourner à nos places.

Je me suis toujours demandé si ses photos m’auraient plu. Ce qui nous avait rapprochés pendant ces trois longues heures de discussion à l’arrière de cet avion n’avait sans doute rien à voir avec son travail. J’ai malgré tout l’intuition qu’il m’aurait touché, et que j’y aurais vu la sincérité, la passion et la TJOHVMBSJUÏ RVF K BJ USPVWÏFT EBOT TFT NPUT %JY BOOÏFT POU QBTTÏ FU KF QFOTF FODPSF Ë DFUUF SFODPOUSF Cet inconnu, quelque part, a un peu changé ma vie. Cet inconnu, pour une raison que j’ignore, m’a bouleversé. Et, si je vous raconte cette aventure, c’est parce que cet inconnu, de l’autre bout du monde, BVSBJU QV T BQQFMFS $ÏESJY $SFTQFM *M Z B DIF[ MVJ VOF CPOIPNJF RVJ NF SBQQFMMF DFMMF EV QIPUPHSBQIF 6OF QFSTPOOBMJUÏ GSBODIF FU TJODÒSF RVJ GPSDF MF SFTQFDU $BS BV EFMË EF M FTUIÏUJTNF RV JM JNQSJNF Ë TB QFJOUVSF $ÏESJY DPOTUSVJU VO SBQQPSU BVY DIPTFT BVY IPNNFT FU Ë M BSU EPOU MB DMÏ EF MFDUVSF SFQPTF TVS VOF WÏSBDJUÏ Ë UPVUF ÏQSFVWF $ FTU VO IPNNF E FOHBHFNFOU RVJ DPOOBÔU MB WBMFVS EF M IJTUPJSF MF TFOT EF DF NPVWFNFOU MJBOU VO IJFS Ë VO EFNBJO TFMPO MB UFOFVS EF M JOTUBOU QSÏTFOU 1BSUBHF JOUFOTJUÏ FU mEÏMJUÏy Le Breton rude, mais entier, qui tôt ou tard s’installe au fond du cœur. Il m’était ainsi impossible de refuser son invitation à signer une préface. Je dédie donc ces mots au peintre, évidemment, mais surtout à l’ami que je garde à tout instant en mémoire.

TILT

-B QFJOUVSF EF $ÏESJY $SFTQFM T JOTDSJU EBOT VOF logique, une tradition, un rapport à l’art, où résonnent des noms et des approches divers en apparence, mais qui, pourtant, T VOJTTFOU FO VO NÐNF ÏMBO M FOUFOEFNFOU FU MB EJTUJODUJPO d’un idéal au moment historique que marquent le déclin QIJMPTPQIJRVF FU VOF DSJTF EV TFOT - IPNNF MB UPJMF FO UÐUF incessamment, se questionne, nuance, détruit et reconstruit.

Comme instrument, le pinceau développe donc un langage QFSTPOOFM FU NFU FO NPVWFNFOU MFT DPOUSBEJDUJPOT PV QFVU ÐUSF simplement les sensations hétéroclites, qui le préoccupent. $FSUFT MB GFNNF FO UBOU RV PCKFU EF EÏTJS BQQBSBÔU BV QSFNJFS QMBO /ÏBONPJOT BV EFMË EF DFUUF ÏWJEFODF TF DÙUPJFOU OPNCSF E JEÏFT EF TZNCPMJRVFT FU EF SFDIFSDIFT 1MBTUJRVFT formelles, narratives, conceptuelles – évidemment –, mais ÏHBMFNFOU FYJTUFOUJFMMFT 4J M JM BV QSFNJFS BCPSE TVDDPNCF BVY DIBSNFT GBDJMFT EF M FTUIÏUJRVF QPQ BDUVFMMF USÏQJHOBOU EF DPOUPVST TUSJDUFNFOU EÏmOJT FO MBSHFT FU WPMVQUVFVY Ë QMBUT que le foisonnement chromatique pimente, ou si l’esprit du spectateur se délecte rapidement de considérations sensuelles et autres assertions romantiques, une traversée rétrospective EF M VWSF EF $ÏESJY JOWJUF QBS DPOUSF Ë NFTVSFS UPVUF l’importance de thèmes aussi profonds et inépuisables que la relation de l’artiste à sa muse, au temps et au couple que constituent évolution et identité.

Dès le départ, Crespel marie tracés vasculaires d’un Ackermann et vecteurs sévères dignes d’un software.

Génération moderne, génération computer, il ne le nie pas.

Toutefois, là où l’Allemand favorise une forme de contemplation platonique de la diversité culturelle symbolisée par le thème du voyage et de l’urbanisme, lui s’attaque à une idée nettement NPJOT DPOTFOTVFMMF MB GÏNJOJUÏ FU MB MJCJEP NBTDVMJOF %F DFUUF DPOGSPOUBUJPO VOJWFSTFMMF OBÔU VOF QFJOUVSF RVF MFT DPEFT du glamour et de l’érotisme baignent. Aucune concession cependant, le geste traite la stimulation telle que perçue et se GPVU EFT ÏWFOUVFMMFT DPOWFOBODFT TPDJPQPMJUJRVFT .JFVY Ë MB NBOJÒSF E VO .PMJOJFS $SFTQFM USBOTDFOEF DFUUF EJNFOTJPO FU JOUÒHSF M FYQMJDJUF -FT QPTFT TPOU MJWSÏFT TBOT EÏUPVS MFT corps minutieusement détaillés, les coups de pinceau tantôt WJPMFOUT UBOUÙU EPVY *M NPOUSF TBOT IZQPDSJTJF UPVU FO GFJHOBOU la suggestion et l’évocation. La superposition des couches et la richesse des compositions créent l’illusion et ajoutent à l’élégance du geste. On peut y lire la femme tour à tour sujet et objet, fantasmée ou idéalisée, crue comme subtile, complice QVJT GBSPVDIF FOmO MJCSF

-B GFNNF DFSUFT .BJT BWBOU UPVU MF QBTTÏ EBOT MF QSÏTFOU (SBQIJRVFNFOU $SFTQFM USBWBJMMF EFT mHVSFT RVJ renvoient à des époques révolues par des tons synthétiques et des lignes matricielles, tout en fuyant soigneusement M PCTFTTJPO EFT UFYUVSFT FU EFT SFMJFGT QSPQSFT Ë MB QFJOUVSF DMBTTJRVF *M OF SFQSÏTFOUF QBT M BEPMFTDFOUF IZQFSTFYVÏF que le XXIe TJÒDMF HMPSJmF *M QPSUSBJUVSF MFT JDÙOFT EF MB libération. Cependant, là où quiconque s’empresserait de MFT DPOUFYUVBMJTFS PV EF MFT GBSEFS E BUUSJCVUT seventies, lui les ramène au présent par une stylistique et des procédés BDUVFMT $ FTU M PCTFTTJPO EF .PEJHMJBOJ DSPRVÏF BVKPVSE IVJ en observant les modèles qu’ont chantés Dutronc ou Barbara.

Les héroïnes de Truffaut, Godard et Resnais projetées en OVNÏSJRVF Ë , 0O SFOPODF BV HSBJO QPVS M IZQFSEÏmOJUJPO Ë la saturation pour l’orange teal, mais on s’enchante encore pour +FBO 4FCFSH "OOB ,BSJOB FU +FBOOF .PSFBV -F QSPDÏEÏ QFVU QBSBÔUSF ÏWJEFOU WPJSF CBOBM GPSDF FTU EF DPOTUBUFS QPVSUBOU que, de la sorte, Crespel se libère des clivages d’époque, JSPOJTF MFT DPODFQUT QVSJTUFT FU SFTQFDUF mOBMFNFOU TFT QSPQSFT impulsions. On ne théorise pas. On cherche et l’on recherche.

On tente avant tout de comprendre ou, du moins, E FOUFOESF TFT GBTDJOBUJPOT 1PVSRVPJ MFT GFNNFT 1PVSRVPJ DFT GFNNFT 1PVSRVPJ DFUUF GFNNF -F DIFNJOFNFOU T ÏUFOE hésite, se complète mais ne cesse pas. De là ce « Chemin EF 'FS x %F MË QFVU ÐUSF BVTTJ DFT j $IFNJOT EF 'BJSF T ».

Le style, l’identité graphique ont, en effet, toujours préoccupé MF QFJOUSF $SFTQFM T BQQMJRVF EPOD EÒT MF EÏCVU Ë SÏnÏDIJS TPO USBWBJM $PSSFTQPOESF Ë TPO UFNQT M JORVJÒUF .BJT QMVUÙU que de repérer et de s’approprier des techniques ou des procédés qui lui seraient contemporains et courir de la sorte derrière l’époque, il s’interroge sur les particularités du moment historique et sur la manière de les lier à une démarche créative.

Il introduit conséquemment la dimension informatique dans son QSPDFTTVT FU FTRVJTTF TVS ÏDSBO DF RV JM FYÏDVUFSB FOTVJUF TVS la toile. L’idée possède ceci de génial qu’initier une composition à la souris pour la matérialiser ensuite au pinceau ramène une GPJT EF QMVT MB USBEJUJPO FU EPOD MF QBTTÏ Ë MB TQÏDJmDJUÏ EV présent. Accessoirement, il solde par ce biais la dualité, le binarisme des mondes numérique et physique. Virtuel et réel ne se tournent pas le dos, ils se complètent.

$FQFOEBOU M JORVJÏUVEF WB BV EFMË EF MB DPODFQUVBMJTBUJPO "JOTJ Ë M JOWFSTF EF M FYQSFTTJPOOJTNF postmoderne, Crespel cherche et revendique le contrôle. Si le XXe siècle a vu se succéder des générations de penseurs et de créateurs concentrés sur l’émancipation du comportement GBDF BVY DPEFT FU BVY EJLUBUT MF XXIe FYJHF QFVU ÐUSF M JOWFSTF La liberté individuelle s’est vue sacralisée au point que M ÏUFOEVF EFT QPTTJCMFT FU EFT ESPJUT mHF WPJSF QBSBMZTF MFT EÏNBSDIFT 1BSDF RV JM QFVU RVBTJNFOU UPVU GBJSF FU UPVU EJSF Crespel s’impose des dogmes et des contraintes qui dessinent des chemins sur lesquels s’engager. Il fuit soigneusement le chaos – ou du moins tout no man’s land artistique – pour créer EFT TUJNVMBUFVST DPODSFUT RVJ QVJTTFOU FYDJUFS TB QFOTÏF FU JODJUFS MB SFDIFSDIF *M FYJTUF DIF[ MVJ VOF DPOTDJFODF JOOÏF EF la période, et cela se traduit graphiquement par la délimitation TUSJDUF EFT GPSNFT MB GSBODIJTF EFT Ë QMBUT FU MB QSPQSFUÏ EFT USBDÏT -B NBUÏSJBMJTBUJPO E VO SÏFM FYDFTTJWFNFOU QMVSJFM FU CSPVJMMPO EPJU T PSHBOJTFS -Ë Pá M FYQSFTTJPOOJTNF BWBJU DPOTBDSÏ MB UPVUF QVJTTBODF EF M JOTUJODU FU EV TVCDPOTDJFOU lui rétablit celle de la pensée à une époque troublée par l’effondrement des structures. Cette soif de contrôle le NÒOFSB NÐNF Ë USPRVFS MFT CSJMMBODFT QPVS MF NBU ÏWJUBOU BJOTJ M BMÏBUPJSF EFT SFnFUT "VDVO BCTPMV UPVUFGPJT - ÏMBO T BQQBSFOUF QMVT Ë MB SÏnFYJPO JOJUJBMF EF MB /PVWFMMF 7BHVF ou, quelques décennies plus tard, à celle de Lars Von Trier, 7JOUFSCFSH FU ,SBHI +BDPCTFO $FSUFT EFT QSÏDFQUFT DBESFOU la démarche pour défendre la plus grande sincérité dans M BDUF DSÏBUJG NBJT TBOT QPVS BVUBOU SFOPODFS BVY NPUFVST EF MB recherche, de la dynamique et de la maturation. Au contraire.

-FT QSFNJÒSFT FYQÏSJFODFT QBTTÏFT FU BTTVNÏFT MF DPOUFOV s’abstrait progressivement des stéréotypes de jeunesse pour T BGmSNFS EBOT MB NVMUJQMJDJUÏ EFT QPTTJCMFT FU TVSUPVU EBOT MB synthèse de ses propres contradictions.

Avant de s’intéresser donc à Pleurer de J.O.I.E, il convient de cerner ces évolutions. De mesurer, dans le travail de Crespel, les glissements de contenus, l’épuration QSPHSFTTJWF EF MB OBSSBUJPO FU MB NÏUBNPSQIPTF EFT DIPJY GPOEBNFOUBVY RV JM QPTF QPVS DPNQSFOESF DPNNFOU DFT EÏDMJDT BGGFDUFOU PV NJFVY MJCÒSFOU MB EJNFOTJPO QMBTUJRVF 4BJTJS DFU JODFTTBOU BMMFS SFUPVS FOUSF DF RV JM QFSÎPJU FU DF RV JM verbalise, entre les stimulations qui l’animent et les réactions qu’elles engendrent, entre l’homme et son monde, sa singularité et ses universels. Crespel, ce n’est ni Wesselmann, ni Kaws, ni -ZODI OJ #BSCBSB OJ (BJOTCPVSHy $ FTU UPVU DFMB GPVSSÏ EBOT un bagage personnel, monté sur un réseau herméneutique en construction permanente et lâché dans une frénésie dialectique sans destination préétablie.

Cédrix Crespel’s work is part of a tradition and a relationship to art in which different names and approaches resonate. Although all apparently diverse, they nonetheless converge into a single impetus: the understanding and distinction of an ideal at a historical moment, marked by philosophical decline and a crisis of meaning. With the canvas in mind, the artist continuously questions himself, applies nuances, then destroys and reconstructs the whole process over and over again. The brush, as an instrument, develops a personal language and puts contradictions (or perhaps just the eclectic sensations that concern him) into motion. The woman appears in the foreground, as an object of desire. Yet, numerous ideas, symbolisms and researches DP FYJTU CFZPOE UIJT FWJEFODF 5IFZ BSF PG DPVSTF QMBTUJD formal, narrative and conceptual, but also existential. The eye might initially succumb to the easy charm of modern pop BFTUIFUJD UXJUDIJOH BU UIF TUSJDUMZ EFmOFE WPMVQUVPVT BOE nBU UJOUFE DPOUPVST MBDFE XJUI BCVOEBOU DPMPVST 5IF WJFXFS T mind might also revel in sensual considerations and other romantic assertions. However, a retrospective journey through Cédrix’s work prompts us to measure the importance of other profound and inexhaustible topics, such as the relationship of the artist with his muse, with the era in which he paints, and XJUI UIF FWPMVUJPO JEFOUJUZ QBJS From the very beginning, Crespel has combined Ackerman’s veined outlines with harsh vectors, worthy of a software. He belongs to the modern generation, the computer generation, and does not deny it. Yet where the German favoured a sort of platonic contemplation of cultural diversity, symbolised in the topics of travel and urban planning, the Frenchman preferred to tackle a much less consensual idea: femininity and male libido. Works bathed in codes of glamour and eroticism have been born from this universal confrontation. Completely free of concessions, the gesture treats the stimulus as it is perceived and ignores BOZ QPTTJCMF TPDJP QPMJUJDBM BQQSPQSJBUFOFTT -JLF .PMJOJFS Crespel transcends this dimension and integrates the explicit.

Poses are shown without detour, bodies painstakingly detailed with the brush striking violently here, softly there.

He shows without hypocrisy, but still wants to suggest and evoke. The superimposition of layers and the richness of the compositions create an illusion and add to the elegance of the gesture. We can read the woman alternately as subject and object, fantasised about or idealised, raw as much as TVCUMF DPNQMJDJU UIFO mFSDF BOE mOBMMZ GSFF Crespel certainly paints the woman. However, primarily he paints the past within the present. Graphically, through synthetic tones and matrix lines, Crespel creates mHVSFT UIBU SFGFS UP UJNFT UIBU BSF OP NPSF )F OFWFSUIFMFTT evades the obsession with textures and reliefs that are so TQFDJmD UP DMBTTJDBM QBJOUJOH )F EPFT OPU SFQSFTFOU UIF PWFSUMZ TFYVBMJTFE UFFOBHFS UIBU UIF UXFOUZ mSTU DFOUVSZ HMPSJmFT )F QPSUSBZT JDPOT PG MJCFSBUJPO )PXFWFS XIFSF anyone would rush into contextualising or loading them with attributes from the seventies, Crespel brings them back to the present through modern stylistics and processes. It JT .PEJHMJBOJ T PCTFTTJPO TLFUDIFE UPEBZ XIJMF MPPLJOH BU the models that Dutronc or Barbara have sung. Truffaut, Godard and Resnais, protagonists projected in 4K Digital.

(SBJO HJWFT XBZ UP IZQFS EFmOJUJPO TBUVSBUJPO UP PSBOHF UFBM while still singing the beauty of Jean Seberg, Anna Karina PS +FBOOF .PSFBV 5IF QSPDFTT NBZ TFFN PCWJPVT PS FWFO banal, but in this way Crespel manages to clearly overcome the discrepancies between different periods, to treat purist concepts with irony, and actually follow his own impulses. He does not theorise. He searches and researches. ¹ “Chemins de Fer” means “Railways». ² “Chemins de Faire” is homonym to “Chemins de Fer” but “faire” means “to do” instead of “iron”. ³ “Pleurer de joie” means “To cry tears of joy”.

Crespel is primarily trying to understand, or at least sense, his fascinations. Why women? Why these women?

Why this woman? The progression unravels, hesitates, completes itself but never stops. Hence Chemins de Fer¹.

Perhaps $IFNJOT EF 'BJSF T ² too. The painter has always worried about his style and graphic identity. He has thus zealously thought his work through since the beginning. He cares about corresponding to his time. However, rather than identifying and adopting techniques or processes that would be contemporary to him, hence pursuing his era, he wonders about the peculiarities of the historical moment and the ways he can link them to a creative effort. He therefore brings computers into the process, sketching onto the screen what he will later develop on canvas. The idea has that amazing particularity that initiating a composition with the mouse, to materialise it afterwards with the brush brings once again USBEJUJPO oBOE UIFSFGPSF UIF QBTUo CBDL UP UIF TQFDJmDJUZ PG UIF present. Incidentally, he also overcomes the duality between the digital and physical worlds. Virtual and real do not turn their back on each other, but complement one another instead.

The concern however, transcends DPODFQUVBMJTBUJPO *OEFFE VOMJLF QPTU NPEFSO expressionists, Crespel seeks and claims control. While the twentieth century saw generations of thinkers and creators focus on the emancipation of behaviour against codes BOE EJDUBUFT UIF UXFOUZ mSTU DFOUVSZ NBZ SFRVJSF UIF FYBDU opposite. Individual freedom became so sacred, that endless possibilities and rights froze or even impeded initiatives.

Because today he can do and say nearly everything, Crespel imposes dogmas and constraints on himself to EFmOF QBUIT PO XIJDI UP FOHBHF )F NFUJDVMPVTMZ BWPJET DIBPT oPS BU MFBTU BOZ BSUJTUJD OP NBO T MBOEo UP DSFBUF TPMJE stimulators that are able to excite his mind and encourage research. He bears in him an inborn consciousness of his time, which, graphically, translates into strictly demarcated TIBQFT GSBOL nBU UJOUT BOE DMFBO MJOFT 4PNF PSEFS NVTU CF given to materialise an excessively disparate and sketchy reality. While expressionists consecrated the mighty power of instinct and subconscious, he restores that of thought, in an era troubled by the collapse of structures. This thirst for control will even lead him to swap sheen for matte, thus BWPJEJOH UIF SBOEPNOFTT PG SFnFDUJPOT ZFU XJUIPVU GBMMJOH JOUP radicalism. The momentum rather resembles the New Wave’s JOJUJBM SFnFDUJPO PS B GFX EFDBEFT MBUFS UIBU PG -BST 7PO 5SJFS 7JOUFSCFSH BOE ,SBHI +BDPCTFO 0G DPVSTF UIF FGGPSU follows some precepts in order to defend utmost sincerity in the creative act. However, the driving forces behind the research, dynamics and maturation are never ruled out. In GBDU UIF PQQPTJUF PDDVST 0ODF UIF mSTU FYQFSJFODFT IBWF passed and been processed, the content gradually sheds the ZPVUI TQFDJmD TUFSFPUZQFT BOE BTTFSUT JUTFMG JO UIF NVMUJQMJDJUZ of possibilities and, above all, in the synthesis of its own contradictions.

5IFTF FWPMVUJPOT OFFE UP CF JEFOUJmFE CFGPSF addressing 1MFVSFS EF + 0 * &©. By measuring the migrations of content in Crespel’s work, the progressive purging of narrative and the metamorphosis of the fundamental choices he makes, we get a better understanding of how these triggers affect or (better still), liberate, the plastic dimension.

Capturing this endless back and forth movement between what he perceives and what he verbalises, between the stimuli that drive him and the reactions they generate, between the man and his world, his singularity and his universality. Crespel is neither Wesselmann, nor Kaws, nor Lynch, nor Barbara, nor Gainsbourg. He is all of that, stuffed JOUP B QFSTPOBM CBDLHSPVOE NPVOUFE PO B DPOTUBOUMZ VOEFS construction hermeneutic network and let loose in a dialectic GSFO[Z XJUI OP QSF EFUFSNJOFE EFTUJOBUJPO

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Ouvrage réalisé sous la direction de 40.0(: ÏEJUJPOT E BSU %JSFDUFVS ÏEJUPSJBM Nicolas Neumann 3FTQPOTBCMF ÏEJUPSJBMF 4UÏQIBOJF .ÏTÏHVFS $PÏEJUJPOT +FBO -PVJT 'SBVE $PPSEJOBUJPO ÏEJUPSJBMF Belle Page $POUSJCVUJPO ÏEJUPSJBMF Copie Qualité 'BCSJDBUJPO #ÏBUSJDF #PVSHFSJF .ÏMBOJF -F (SPT

5FYUF FO GSBOÎBJT Guillaume Rivera 5SBEVDUJPO Elisa Rivera ²EJUJPO Dawn Redman *OUFSWFOBOUT ÏEJUPSJBVY Olivier de Sagazan, TILT (SBQIJTNF 'SFE /JDPMBV 5SBEJUJPO .PEFSOF $3²%*54 1)050(3"1)*26&4 QBHFT Joie Iacono QBHF .S MF 'SBOÎBJT QBHFT Ë Tiphaine Crespel QBHFT 1BVM &UBSE QBHFT 'BOOZ -PQF[ QBHFT Nicolas Gzeley QBHF Benjamin Laading QBHFT Fabienne Cresens QBHF Tilt QBHF Didier Carluccio QBHFT Christian Koopmans

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