Patrick Vandecasteele (FR)
Text written by GHA
French painter Patrick Vandecasteele works with oil paint to explore the complexities of human nature, movement, and self-expression. Vandecasteele creates realistic portraits as his subjects move through space. They sometimes appear in groups, but nonetheless exist as individuals, caught up in their personal expression and feeling. They exist fluidly, dancing and swaying, limbs flung out or artfully twisted in space, confident and self-assured yet pondering.
Focusing on form over vibrance, Vandecasteele’s colour palette remains dark and cool.
He creates deep shadows which exist in contrast to highlights which draw focus to certain features and movements, and the occasional bright colour is thereby emphasised.
He keeps the backgrounds simple, drawing attention to the figures and their positions, and blurs the edges between individual and surrounding, seamlessly and artfully combining them with their dark environments.
Although his paintings are physically dark, Vandecasteele’s depiction of human subjects are vivid and colourful, offering a rich exploration of our shared humanity. Vandecasteele’s pieces demonstrate the subtleties of individual emotion and depth of psyche while emphasising our shared enjoyment of movement as expression and our tendencies to question purpose and meaning.
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