Born in 1958, I discovered painting at the age of 13 and devoted myself to it with fervor. It is figurative art that interests me. My references at the time were Nicolas de Staël and Eugène Delacroix. In Marseille, at the age of 18, I met some of the artists promoting contemporary art: Support/Surface, the Nice school, etc. Classic figuration was considered by them to be has-been at that time… It is not easy to realize you are considered has-been at 18. This led to a personal reassessment that brought me to philosophical questioning and from philosophy to writing.
For 30 years, this repression of my initial desire took me from being a philosophy teacher to a journalist, screenwriter, essayist, novelist, Havana cigar expert, publicist, filmmaker, and film teacher… Until the day when, thinking I was expanding my house to add bedrooms, I realized I had built a studio. I set up two easels there, and painting reclaimed me, never to leave again.
My meeting with Martial Raysse was decisive. The discovery of his work, his artistic journey, and the making of a film with him liberated me. The joy of painting, without any concern for “official art,” returned to me.
I avoid expressionism as much as I do conceptual art. I pursue vision and the senses it implies.