written by Fiona Fortunato

The Parisian born artist Martin Faure explores the relationship between cultural identity, spirituality and self-expression through his most recent exhibit of oil paintings. On October 12 at Darmo Art Gallery on the famous Rue Royale of Paris, he opened his exhibit while playing live music himself as people floated around the gallery drinking champagne and discussing his works. Faure received his MA from the École Nationale Supérieure Des Beaux-Arts of Paris in 2018 and, while he always had a specific vision and unique approach to the subject of his artwork, he felt frustration when enacting his craft at university. While interviewing him, he discussed how his artistic process was unorthodox compared to the rigid curriculum that confined the style he intrinsically had early on. Clearly, he was undeterred by his vision. Although art schools are well-intentioned, they may occasionally attempt to shape the artistic expression of their students in an unhelpful manner. 

The École Nationale Supérieure Des Beaux-Arts of Paris is an incredibly well known institution. The mandatory skill sets that must be acquired are not fruitless even if they may restrict the speed at which an artist can return to their unique style. Additionally, the internship opportunities offered by the institution can grant in one form or another an even greater inspirational education.

From a young age he sought inspiration through purchasing books on art, poetry and philosophy. This attachment to writing and contemplation still follows him in his current creative process, by choosing one central object to meditate upon and expand into a larger work.

Once he reached the age to enter art school, his path was diverted by an unexpected opportunity that would later shape and infuse his work with the rich culture of Cuban life. Des Beaux Arts was able to secure a temporary opportunity to send one student to study in Havana—Faure was that student. The experience of being in Havana changed the trajectory of Faure’s work, and you can clearly see the influence of the culture through the color scheme and vivid patterns and textures in many of his paintings that reflects typical patterns and colors used in Cuban art. Since graduating, he goes back to Cuba on and off for months at a time, but has most recently been traveling around the world living and working wherever he is invited to stay. Keeping with his bohemian artist traveling patterns, new cultural inspiration and contemplation seem to have informed his artwork more than merely a curriculum based path. 

While there is the occasional human figure that appears in his most recent exhibition, most of his oil paintings are centered around a raw aspect of the natural world. His works intend to intuitively spark contemplation around objects that can be described as the traits of disembodied aspects of humanity. The composition of his works allow the viewer to enter the scenery with sometimes surrealist objects scattering the foreground as is the case in his painting Passengers. 

Building upon one essential object, Faure searches for the wisdom behind that object as a form of “natural philosophy”. The meditative representation falls hand in hand with how open to interpretation much of his artwork is. The lines are blurred between what is inside or outside within a scene, and therefore what could constitute introspection or observation.

Faure has always had a specific style for his painting, and while his time at art school aided in bringing him to where he is today, it has not been inextricably intertwined with his creative path. His work has modern elements with an infusion of the cultures that have touched his life and the ingenuitive imagination that builds upon the raw, natural elements discussed earlier. His processes of finding inspiration, painting and sharing his work all have a philosophical undertone, inviting the viewer to contemplate each scene as they visually enter.