Xavier Theunis

Centering on figures from ordinary life, the collage paintings made of accumulated offcuts by Xavier Theunis describe both a constructed image and the construction of that same image. With the recycling of adhesive offcuts, the cutting and the collage, the artist strictly plays with a geometrical rigour and a humour distant from the relationship between art, architecture and design. The adhesive, standard material for communication or decoration, becomes a tool to express and question the pictorial illusionism.

Courtesy of BACKSLASH

In discussion of Studio View #22 Xavier writes:

‘"Studio view #22", is a painting from a series started few years ago. It all began with a piece of neon red adhesive found in a sign manufacturer. A side of this sheet was torn and I decided to do something with it, so I stuck it on a white aluminum plate. The idea was to try to fix the missing part. So I took a picture and redrew the border of the empty area on illustrator and then cut out the shape in a close-fitting adhesive.The absurdity of the process means that the shapes do not fit perfectly and create the white border and a difference in tone (depending on the suppliers and the coloured baths the hues of the fluorescent adhesives are slightly different).

Once this cut was made and glued, the remaining part was already a new painting in progress which was going to generate another one etc...

The colour match issue is as interesting to me as a painting made up from damaged or unusable stuff. It's also an effortless method to not compose but also just observe carefully how things are built and which is the best way to restore it.’

ABOUT XAVIER THEUNIS

French-Belgian artist Xavier Theunis creates work in a range of media, including drawing, photography, sculpture, installation, and painting. He examines space and perspective through playful reinterpretations of still life, landscape, design, and architecture. His diverse practice includes minimal abstract paintings, large-scale mixed media installations, and surreal photographs of interiors.

His work has been exhibited in group and solo shows in France, including Bastille Design Center, Paris, Galerie Catherine Issert, Saint-Paul-de-Vence, Grand Palais, Paris, Galerie de la Marine, Nice, MAMAC, Nice, and Villa Arson, Nice.