Page 23 Fllo ig Pge, Te cor sn, pitbuh cr i n cavs 0 o wn a AN OEUVRE THAT BEARS FRUIT


Plumply ripe fruit in very vibrant colours. Fruit with titles exuding sensuality. Fruit that rises into feverish tangos against backdrops of timelessness: lascivious, provocative, willing or reluctant, tender and endearing, one- night whims...


The tongue-in-cheek titles mischievously recount almost juicy stories, accomplices at times in our desires,


often in our urges. Apples, cherries, and pears show off their curves or lap up a gleam of eye-catching light that is compelling to the touch and suggests a flicker of heat. Gilles Charest’s still lifes are, in fact, full of life and vitality.


“ I strv ie to cete a mod ra o, to exr


ster f clu als hr n a r a tsel.


ui


cmpex ad exr v bec . M rut srv s pe x pl


o l n pessie suj ts y f i e e a rtets to tak aot hmas. Te p r ecme wmen e apes me, th h re hlr , th rn nnw eol.. Te r y tecnqe ad seac o novnoa


n e ceris ciden e pues ukon p pe. hse ae metahrcl vsin f lf. M hiu n


pess a feln, to cneovy sen ai , ad to supi . I pit si l l bu u n h eas b o poia ios o ie


e ig sulty n


ma y o oor enbe amoy to trn en n th r tin o rlin udmetal prty o o o tin ad uu a oma uth ntue hsi f”


rh fr ucnetinl tex r id epessin i asc d i


rrse f cmpsio n nsul fr ts fr erenac e ntin o ra ig moe lf n


an mpe, y ihyet hgl o , th


tues fn xr o n my p soa i o f stil lf e ceao f bilat fna n ly sen a anns. Te hne th oo f bethn


er nl vsin o l ies. M sul pitig h a


y r ie ito my sbecuj ts thn


Furthermore, joie de vivre finds every pretext to weave itself onto the canvas, in colours that the artist blends directly on the painting surface. After preparing the canvas, he borrows from gestural art to set down the first line: an empirical approach in which spontaneity and abandon embrace the movement. The signature is at times broad, at times subtle – a stroke that becomes the first moment in a creation.


Charest begins his paintings by instinctively applying a modelling paste with a spatula, a purely textural gesture that has become his signature over time. One by one, the hues then contrast and counterbalance each other in a muted rhythm that deftly and exquisitely lends itself to the interplay of “fo s,rtti ”resulting from a rubbing technique. Reds, ochres, olives, and


greys impose or recede, affirming existence – intimate, immoderately voluptuous, head-over-heels in love, and bursting with life. Charest’s works touch, charm, and seduce, appealing to us by suggesting our moods and our very ways of


being – an evocative discourse that bears fruit.


TRUE BUT NOT REAL The artist does not paint from real-life models. His fruit has borrowed the figurative authenticity of apples, pears, plums, and cherries – but not their realism. The fruit provides a pretext to speak of men and women, neighbours, strangers, and even intruders. They


are characters who take their cotton-factory lives for a walk down our memory lanes and immerse themselves into the fabric of our daily lives. Charest conveys a state of consciousness, a precise moment in the passage of time. He recounts feverish love, the sweetness of expectations, and the hopefulness of soft morning light.


h uteas an rs, a ylc o na, 4” x 3” 0


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