On the trail of Anne Brenner

Just before closing of the current session, ARTIST continues the story in the footsteps d’Anne Brenner who painted the canvas ' Abruzzo » That's where it all started!

Captivated by her life journey, her artistic approach and her approach to ecological issues, the team of ARTIST-the brand retained his unique painting which dialogues with man and nature.

« … I found a form of raw poetry which combines in me the exaltation of the wild and the calm of contemplation. AB

Between Canadian origins, European culture, immersions in the wide open spaces of cold or hot countries, all these convergences have profoundly influenced the painter who so inspired the theme of the moment.

At the very beginning, the artist started in Parisian zoos where she worked with the help of teams of keepers. There she obtained the prints of each animal species: mammal, reptile, bird, fish, and represented a body of work done in a naturalistic spirit.

After graduating from the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris and a degree in Visual Arts from Paris Panthéon Sorbonne, she was awarded the Villa Médicis Hors-les-Murs. This scholarship allowed her to reside for a year and a half in Africa where she undertook a project on animals. This is what got her into her current job.

When Anne Gérard, the artist who collaborated on the previous “Barocco” collection asked him:

“Where would you like to get lost? »

She retorts:

" Lose myself ? I like to explore but not get lost. When I was tracking animals in the African bush, I would leave tracks on the trees with my machete to find my way! »

What exactly is this concept about the tracks left by elephants, rhinos, hippos and crocodiles?

“Accompanied by rangers, I learned to track these animals in order to obtain their prints. I arranged my camouflaged canvases in their most recent passages. They left traces of their footsteps on the earth, sometimes soaked with rain, sun and the jagged work of termites.

The animal is the active element of the landscape and my paintings reproduce an extract of it. The pictorial outcome reflects the instinctive behavior of raw, wild life, as a natural element. »

The forest is one of the favorite places to nourish her inspiration when she knows that dangerous animals like wolves and bears live there. The surreptitious animal gives relief to each rustle of the forest and fear sharpens its senses. A stroll turns into an adventure.

“You have to be physically committed to riding in the jungle or in the mountains, in the foliage, at the pace of a seasoned guide who knows the terrain perfectly. We jump on the stones of the steep slopes, we rush headlong into the brambles to arrive in front of each camera hidden on a tree. This brutal, organic experience of these territories in their pure state mixed with the captured images creates a feeling of fusion. We share an alliance between humans and non-humans. »

Capture the secret life of owls, wolves, bears and deer at night with an automatically triggered camera. Then paint their fleeting appearance to bear witness to a world parallel to ours. Back in his workshop, Anne Brenner expresses with brushstrokes his powerful and penetrating vision of these occult universes.

« These black and white photos serve as the basis for my work. My process involves several stages where I handle acrylic paint and photographic transfer in the manner of monotypes. I then photograph the resulting image while establishing a device with special effects for smoke and shadows. » AB.

Anne has often exhibited in various prestigious places, such as in recent years at the Center Georges Pompidou, at the Cité des Sciences et des Arts in Paris. Other exhibition halls have hung his fascinating work: the Natural History Museum of Grenoble, the Center d'Art Contemporain de Meymac, the Abbaye de l'Escaladieu in France. The Royal Academy in London and the Photo London Art Fair also presented it.

“For me, a painting is always the result of reflection and a succession of chances that I use. »