Looking back at my last exhibition in Switzerland

My latest artwork exhibition called Unities/dualities, taking place at the Iris Gallery in Pully near Lausanne, closed very recently. It was also my last one in Switzerland, at least for a while, and I will tell you why in a moment (yep: big announcement ahead).

But let me start with the exhibition itself. Its name is drawn from a recurrent theme within my artworks. It was a new step in my artistic career because it showcased exclusively handmade drawings and paintings. This was the first time I did not exhibit iPad and iPhone illustrations like in my previous exhibitions. All 36 pieces shown were new handmade artworks created during the past year. The smaller illustrations were taken out of my sketchbooks that I carry with me all the time. I had already posted some of those, often in a preliminary version, on my facebook or instagram feed. But the bigger pieces were exclusive to this exhibition.

I was very excited to show these new creations during the Unities/dualities exhibition and to receive feedback. It was overwhelmingly positive, and I have been lucky enough to sell quite a few paintings and drawings, which is really great. And to be honest, it is also a bit weird because have to let go of some of your favorite pieces... Then again, I know they are all in good hands will be hung in cool places, so I feel more honored than sad. A big thank you to all the visitors, and to those who decided to purchase my illustrations or paintings: a good choice if you ask me ;-)

Of course I also need to thank the wonderful Iris Gallery, where I was welcomed with open arm as one of the first artists to exhibit there. Iris is a brand new gallery that opened in a lovely location in the old city of Pully a few months ago. My exhibition is over, but there is a new one ongoing that consists of artworks done by past and current students of the Iris art school. It is running until the end of August and if you're nearby you should visit.

As I said, the Unities/dualities exhibition was not only my latest exhibition, it was also my last one in Switzerland. Why? Because 2016 is a big year: I will move to the US with my family in a few weeks. We will spend some time in Ithaca NY for my wife will continue her research at Cornell University, and I will continue to do what I do best: creating new gregoart material. I am also looking forward to getting to know the local art scene, which seems to be small but very lively. In the best case scenario I will even be able to present some of my artistic drawings and paintings over there, and of course I will continue to present my artwork on social media (FB, instagram and pinterest) for all of you who are not close by.

Speaking of showing my artwork online: to keep a memory, I took another new step with Unities/dualities by taking a 360 picture of it, which allows you to visit the exhibition virtually.

Spring update: atelier, exhibition, cover artworks etc.

Back to business after a short vacation in Italy.

Back to business after a short vacation in Italy.

Since I last posted on this blog, I have been busy with quite a lot of private matters such as my wedding among other small things :) I have also been busy with gregoart related stuff, and I am happy to give you an update of what I've been up to since winter.

'Open atelier' week-end

First of all, please get your calendars and note the week-end of April 16th and 17th. On this week-end, artists from the Lausanne region will open the doors of their ateliers and I am one of them. The open house event for ateliers is organized by APERTI, a very dynamic association of Lausanne artists. Wait, I realize I haven’t told you about my atelier space yet. Since the end of last year I have had the pleasure of working in the atelier of sculptor Didier Guex (actually there are three of us, with illustrator Christophe Thomas). This space has given me the opportunity to work on bigger scale mixed techniques paintings. Please visit us in our atelier at Rue de la Pontaise 45 on the afternoon of Saturday 16th or Sunday 17th. We will be happy to welcome you and show you some of our recent artworks.

Gallery exhibition

Another occasion to see some of my recent artworks will be my next exhibition at the Galerie Iris in Pully. I hope your calendars are still close, so you can save the dates: the inauguration will be on May 27th and the exhibition ends on June 17th. I am very excited to show you brand new artworks. Without giving away too much I can already tell you that they have not been realized on iPad (the «old friends for sale» re-exhibition which ended in February was the last that showcased my iPad drawings). The exhibition at the Galerie Iris, taking place during the month of the gemini, will focus on the theme of duality, a theme I am very fond of.

Cover artworks

Furthermore, I have created cover artworks for two upcoming, great music releases. After the cover artwork for "When crates create", an awesome beat tape on actual tape, I will provide my very first artwork for a vinyl release. It is a jazz soul record produced by Jason McGuiness alias Analog Burners from Los Angeles, one of the artists who did a beat for "When crates create". He enlisted the help of great session players (who had already played with the likes of Aloe Blacc, Kendrick Lamar, D’Angelo and Robert Glasper to name but a few) including the rising trumpet star Keyon Harold who plays Miles Davis' trumpet parts in the forthcoming Miles biopic "Miles Ahead". A 45 vinyl single has already been released through Fat Beats (you can listen to it here) and been reviewed in two of the top music websites/magazines: Wax Poetics and Ego Trip . And spoiler alert: based on the new tracks I have had the pleasure to listen to already I assure you that the rest of the lp sounds just as great .

The second cover artwork will be for my man Ologist, who is into some great projects after his "When Crates Create" beat tape. One of them is a compilation of obscure vinyl records mixed together in the vein of the classic Kon & Amir "On track" breaks and samples mixtapes, with tracks curated by various records collectors from all over the world active on Instagram. Not only will I do the cover artwork for the tape, I will also provide a track for the compilation.

As a vinyl addict, collecting records since the mid-nineties, I cannot tell you how excited I am about these two music releases, and about playing a humble part in their creation.

More gregoart-y stuff

I have always been interested in experimenting and I like the idea that my artwork comes alive in different contexts, on different objects. Some of my characters already appear on t-shirts, and I have designed a few accessories, but the experiment was very limited. Thanks to the internet and partner websites there are so many possibilities to make my artwork accessible that I am currently in the process of creating more diverse objects. Stay tuned!

Limited edition prints

Last but not least, I am also planning to release a limited edition of high-quality prints on the theme of jazz music through Manétiz, an impressive start-up dedicated to providing an original art experience.

As you can see, a lot of great events and releases to come in the near future! And to be sure not to miss any news, you can subscribe to my newsletter using the form on the right of this page.

 

A week end with old friends

This week-end, I had the pleasure of inaugurating an exhibition of my iPad drawings at "Particules en Suspension" in Lausanne. I named this exhibition "Old friends for sale" as these artworks were created a few of years ago and have been exhibited a couple of times already, in Fribourg as well as in Lausanne. The current exhibition, running until February 6th, is the last time I am showing these illustrations of imaginary characters. Most of these portraits have been drawn in the train, during my daily commute.

Although the people around me on the train have inspired me, the characters depicted are all invented, like imaginary friends. These friends are in the spotlights one last time, before I will center on exhibitions of my newest creations. (done the analog way, as you may have noticed if you follow Gregoart on instagram or on facebook).

You can see some of these iPad paintings on my website, but believe me it's really something else to see the final form of the artwork. The final version of the artwork is a forex print of the original drawing which is - of course - a digital file. I like to think of it as a sort of digital lithography: there are ten prints per drawing, plus one I own (number zero). but it is only a "sort of" lithography because there is no 'physical' original in the traditional sense.

Each exhibition is also a good way of seeing these illustrations in a new context. This time, it is the colorful surrounding of "Particules en Suspension", an artsy giftshop. (It's a coincidence, but I just realize this goes well with my resolution of adding more colors to my art.) For those who cannot make it to Lausanne, I include some pictures from the vernissage.

The exhibition opening week-end has also been a wonderful occasion to meet some old friends who have supported me. These friends were not imaginary but very real, and I want to thank everyone who has come by.

Spectre is shown behind a window to nowhere.

Spectre is shown behind a window to nowhere.

Artwork Tête d'affiche

Artwork Tête d'affiche

Me in front of the "Particules en suspension" window showcasing my artwork Mozaïk.

Me in front of the "Particules en suspension" window showcasing my artwork Mozaïk.