The Art Review

May 11

Last week I attended the most fascinating and exquisite galley opening at Axelle Gallerie in Soho NYC.  There I viewed an unusual artist, Laurent Dauptain, a graduate of Ecole des Beaus-Arts in Paris as well as Patrick Pietropoli.  Laurent is a painter of portraits, self portraits, with a loose brush and a matrix style of decomposing the image of the face, almost as if through a thick pane of glass, fracturing the colors to make the impression of the self reflection look mystical.  I stood in front of his self portrait for many long minutes thinking about the planes of the face, and how we observe ourselves and those characteristics of others.  Laurent’s work was down a lovely suspended staircase in a room as comfortable as your personal lounge.  The gallery is fairly new in the Soho location and one of the best I have visited.  It is a must see, indeed.  Mr. Daprtain has won several prestigious awards.

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Laurent Dauptain was born on March 25, 1961. A graduate of the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris (1981) and the Ecole des Arts Décoratifs (1983), he gained a master’s degree in Aesthetics in 1984. After years of painting self portraits from every perspective, he found his niche painting large representations of his face. Although he continually paints the same face, the outcome is always unique. He experiments with brush stroke, texture, palette and attention to details. At times, his compositions appear to be completely abstract, but upon further examination, a face always emerges. Although known for his self portraits, Dauptain is very successful with other genres. His landscapes and cityscapes are reminiscent of Hopper, yet Dauptain takes greater liberties with brush stroke to infuse a sense of movement in the painting that can be linked to impressionism. 

Since 1981, Dauptain has exhibited constantly and received numerous awards for his work, the most recent of which include the Grand Prix of the Salon des Peintres de l’Armée (2003), the Taylor Prize (2001), and the gold medal of the Salon des Artistes Français (1997).

Diane Batson-Smith

Chief Editor - The Art Review

Fabienne Delacroix paints France as it may have been over 100 years ago, with vistas of everyday life and family gatherings.  He especially captures the feeling of time and of a culture that was elegant, playful, and well dressed.  His colors are vibrant and then monotone.  The country life Mr. Delacroix depicts takes us back into a time of harvesting, swimming, and social mixing.  Many of the painting are quite small, but charming, mirthful,  with a sense of France as a reverie of the mind.  This exhibit may also be seen at the Axelle Galerie in Soho, NYC. Diane Batson-Smith Chief Editor, The Art Review
May 11

Fabienne Delacroix paints France as it may have been over 100 years ago, with vistas of everyday life and family gatherings.  He especially captures the feeling of time and of a culture that was elegant, playful, and well dressed.  His colors are vibrant and then monotone.  The country life Mr. Delacroix depicts takes us back into a time of harvesting, swimming, and social mixing.  Many of the painting are quite small, but charming, mirthful,  with a sense of France as a reverie of the mind.  This exhibit may also be seen at the Axelle Galerie in Soho, NYC.

Diane Batson-Smith

Chief Editor, The Art Review