BIOGRAPHY

 

Philippe Croq is a French painter born in September 1961 in Douarnenez, France.

He currently lives and works in south-eastern France. Before devoting himself to painting, Philippe Croq worked in the aerospace industry. In 1991, a serious illness forced him to leave his job and marked the beginning of his artistic career. This event was a turning point in his life, leading him to express his emotions and pain through painting. His work is often described as a means of channelling his personal experiences and deep feelings. Philippe Croq has exhibited his works in various galleries and art events. In 2013, he received the Joël Dabin Prize, recognising his talent and contribution to the world of contemporary art.

Philippe Croq's works are influenced by a variety of artistic and cultural elements.

 

Although self-taught, Croq draws on a rich and diverse culture, ranging from Caravaggio to Joy Division, Manet to Coppola, and also drawing inspiration from Francis Bacon, Joel-Peter Witkin, and Cy Twombly. His style lies halfway between figuration and abstraction, incorporating numbers and words to guide or mislead the imagination. The influences visible in his works include lines that transform into childhood memories, snippets of songs, objects and words that appear repeatedly. His poetic work is often described as dreamlike, incorporating animal, human and plant figures that are sometimes sketchy and imperfect, leaving room for personal interpretation. Philippe Croq uses mediums such as ink and acrylic on paper mounted on canvas, which contributes to the delicacy of his black lines contrasting with the intimate vibrations of his colours.

Philippe Croq has received several awards and distinctions throughout his artistic career:

 

• 2011: Winner of the Charles Oulmont Prize, awarded by the Charles Oulmont Foundation under the auspices of the Fondation de France.

• 2000: Henri Matisse Prize at the 17th U.M.A.M Biennial in Nice, as well as first prize for painting, also known as the "Golden Fleece", at ART JONCTION in Nice.

• 1995: Winner of the 14th U.M.A.M Biennial in Nice.

• 1993: First prize in the Mossa competition at the 1st Biennale in Nice

 

Philippe Croq engages us with his pictorial proposals here. Is there a message to be found in the composition of these bursts? Everything seems to be in place, but nothing is formulated. A self appears where the double disappears. Often shadows, traces and reflections emerge in a confusion of contradictory interests. Thus invited, the visual sensation of fragments of lived truths strikes us like lightning. But let us not be mistaken, his canvases are highly constructed in their deconstruction. Sometimes a vertical line tends towards a balance just to whisper a colour. He knows how to establish a horizontal line, on the edge of trembling, on the dividing line between a word, a sound, a vibration, a smell, a shiver, a shattered hatred. Through small signs, fragments, lines and hues, he articulates his universe. As a result, we find ourselves dreaming again and again... thus reconnecting with our nocturnal dream from the beginning, suddenly brought up to date. Such an approach requires a kind of listening that treads a fragile, even stretched thread on the verge of breaking. Are we somewhere in what he shows us? His moving attempts to avoid meaning, to weave spider webs, blurred grids, traced edges propel him jubilantly towards a possible resurrection. His sketchy, ghostly apparitions of bodies and strange faces seem to glide along with no weight other than their despair. Yet in this apparent void, fleeting hues, interrupted melodies and discordant chords engage in dialogue (despite themselves?). We know deep down that this has happened to us too. With this in mind, the artist invites us to cross the threshold of a lost world together... to strip it bare before hypothetical reconstructions.                                                                                                                       &