LLEI D'ART 14

CharlesVilleneuve Thepoetics of landscape Born inNantes in 1971, thisMadrid-basedFrench architect anddesigner passes through urbanor rural landscapes like awandering traveller and anobserver of a geography that he not only represents, but enricheswith almost imperceptible shades that dress each and every of his landscapeswith sweetness and adream-likequality. A highly-skilled artisan, he has combinedhiswork as an architect with illustration andpainting. He iswell-known andhas frequentlywon awards from internationally prestigious institutions. Heprefers fieldwork, as it is the onlyway he canbe drenched in the light and ambience of the location, the iridescence and the haze: watercolours are an intuitive, quick-wittedmedium. Villeneuve is a great technician and his work is bothbeautiful andprecise. He captures the essence of the landscape in his initial sketches as adeclarationof intentions, and then transfers to unusual formats such as watercolours, where he shows off his dexterous lines and unfolds his drawnpoetry. In times that are unsettled, profoundly conditionedby speed andparadox, his landscapes shine serene and comforting, boundby an apparent lightness of touch. Theymitigate the tension and captivate uswith their airyweightlessness… evanescingbefore our eyes like aperfume. The final result is captivating and involving. Although itmay be true that watercolours onlywelcomes the trained eye, it creates ties that connect the imaginary and the tangible, thedream lifewith real life, thebackground and form, abstraction and concretion. A refinedoeuvre that invokes pleasurable sensations, all of them varied, but always in harmony. 77 contemporary artists