On the Edge of Visibility

About

The kernel of Emmanuel Barcilon’s practice is concerned with an exploration of the possibilities of painting. He can take almost a year to complete a painting as colour is poured over a wooden support then sanded and reworked many times over; each fresh coat never completely eliminating the previous one. This gives a sense of memory to the work, which in some instances is immediately visible, whilst in others, is almost imperceptible to the naked eye. The concern to keep the frontal surface of the painting completely flat is belied by the heavy layers of colour on the sides of the panel, which ultimately, from certain angles, make his work akin to a sculptural relief.

Emmanuel Barcilon (b. 1967, Paris) graduated from the École Nationale des Beaux-Arts in Cergy. The artist currently lives and works in Paris.

Barcilon had numerous international solo and group exhibitions: Penetrating Stillness, rosenfeld porcini, London; The Continuation of Romance: Painting – An Interrupted Discourse, rosenfeld porcini, London; Contemporary Art Centre, La Rochelle; Contemporary Art Centre, Atelier d’Estienne, Pont-Scorff; Biennale d’Issy; Art Senat, Orangerie du Jardin du Luxembourg, Paris. The artist’s paintings are regularly acquired for private and public collections: ESKFF - Eileen S. Kaminsky Family Foundation, New-York; Collection off Steven J. Guttman (Centre Pompidou Foundation); Collection de la ville d’ Issy-les-Moulineaux; Centre Culturel Franco Nigérien de Niamey. Barcilon’s most recent exhibition A Turbulent Silence was shown during the opening month of the 56th Venice Biennale at the Sala Convegni de S.Apollonia in Venice, which then travelled to the Museo di Asolo in Asolo.