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PATRICK VASSORTIllustrated Interviewwww.vassort.art

Welcome.Today we will take you on a journey into the world and life of the Artist Patrick Vassort.

FIRST TIMES

Your earliest memory?Where was it?“Not far from the Forest of Fontainebleau, alongside the river Seine.What do you recall?“The water, the river, the swans, the sounds, the water lapping, aboat, a fisherman and the sun rising on the horizon, reflecting onthe water, the sound of the wind through the trees, the leaves ofthe willow trees at the water’s edge, and the poplars, behind.The wind’s sound through the poplars is distinctive, the poplarleaves produce some kind of music.“a landscape by the water, by a river I must have been three orfour years old, an indelible memory.

Your first contact with Art?“Through the profession of my parents, jewelers.From the very beginning, many drawings and images…They collected paintings and furniture from contemporarydesigners; I think of Saarinen, Mies van der Rohe, Le Corbusier…this was my environment.How did these Artists influence you?“Probably influenced by the simplicity of their design, focusing onthe essential.

Do you remember a particular painting?“As we often travelled to the mountains, I was really struck onhow difficult it is to paint snow, its white color makes it terriblychallenging to paint.My first contact was with Pissarro who painted snow in a veryrealistic way. Later, he is surely one of my favorite painters, Idiscovered Friedrich who painted snow and mountain with anincredible transparency; if I had to pick a canvas and only one, Iwould choose a painting from Friedrich.

Your first contact with…Beauty“I think that a bird is quite a magical being and very aesthetic.Raptors, among others, I find have an unrivalled elegance.I am amazed by birds.The Air“My parents gave me a kite. I must say that, as a young child, to beable to control something that flies, to manage steering it, it wasquite something. This was my very first experience “in the air” at avery young age, and the memory of it remains today.

The Mountain“The first time I put on skis, I must have been four or five years old.I have never enjoyed skiing on the slopes so much, I have alwaysavoided places too marked, my predilection is off-piste skiing.I take great pleasure in hiking and climbing mountain passes tothen go down on the other side in an immaculate powder snow.It is absolutely magical.

Your First Trip“By trip you mean the first trip in our dreams, in our imagination orthe first actual trip on our planet?… Both“The first imaginary trip I took, I drew it, I dreamt it and I drew it.I was getting up in the morning and immediately drawing mydream. This was an imaginary trip because often unrealistic, but itwas an early form of travelling.Regarding the trips on our planet, I was very lucky to travel a lot forwork, as a jeweler and gemmologist, to meet stone suppliers, gemcutters… in the most improbable and distant places, but alsothanks to my parents who took us on many trips, my sister and I.

OR

Canvas or brush?“One does not go without the otherBlue or red?“Both at the same time, I really like purpleLight or Dark?“Both at the same time, in the same canvas.Under the moon, the brain spins; under the sun, the body does.

Air or sea?“For me both have one thing in common: the wind.On the sea, I sail, the wind propels the sails, and in the air, the airmolecules allow the plane or the paraglider to fly. Air iseverywhere.Desire or pleasure?“There can only be pleasure if there is desire.

Today or Tomorrow?“Today and tomorrow.Being is nothing becoming is everythingPossible or certain?“It is possible that it is certain, but it is not always certain that it ispossible.Utopia or Reality?“Utopia is all that has not been tried yet, there is a reality in utopia.

MORE THAN WORDS

Imagination“It is challenging for me to discuss imagination because it is sucha part of me, I just live it. I do not actually have the apprehensionof the blank sheet or the blank canvas.My imagination is spontaneous, irrepressible, daily, every hour ofevery day, I live imagination.You discover the impact of your imagination through the eyes ofothers. You observe them, they get surprised by your paintings,they wonder, they are intrigued; you call on their ownimagination. They will try to guess what you tried to represent,why, how, where, but you did not think, your hand naturallyguided the brush or the knife on the canvas, as simple as that.Imagination is boundless. Imagination is what rules the world.

Transgression“Transgression is instilled by imagination.Without transgression it is difficult to truly imagine.Without transgression, imagination would be reduced, it wouldlose its meaning, it would become repetition.Transgressing is freeing ourselves from what we have learned,what we have seen.

Sincerity“I never conceived not to be sincere; sincerity is necessary.Anyone who is not sincere always gets caught and loses theirlegitimacy.There is legitimacy only in sincerity.

Intensity“All that is pleasant is intense.Or it is pleasant because it is intense?“Both.

The hand“The hand is something exceptional.If you stop to think at the end of the day, everything you havedone with it during the day, it is very difficult to conceive.In my case, as a jeweler and painter, the hand is fundamental.I would even say both hands, as I was born left-handed, and in mytime we were forced to write with the right hand so I becameambidextrous.

Ergonomics“Numerous inventions were carried out in the light of theergonomics it represented.The cellphone, the downsizing and the possibility ofcommunicating from anywhere, is ergonomic. The keyboard of acomputer is necessarily ergonomic.I would tend to say that my paintings are a little ergonomic, in theextent to which they allow the eye to escape. It gives meaning to apainting hanging on a wall; it should be a window open tosomething else, whatever people will want to imagine, anything,it is the capacity to go beyond the wall.

Humor“Humor is essential. A day without humor, just like a day withoutlaughter is a day not worth living. For me humor is always present,you can turn anything into a joke, as you know laughter is verygood for your health.The Doctor said so…“Absolutely.

BORN TO PAINT

How did it start?“Back then it was not my main activity, I was a jeweler, sketchingjewelry designs, and during the weekends I started with one, twopaintings from time to time and along the way, when I stoppedjewelry, I kept painting for friends in Europe, abroad, in the USA,…Then I travelled less and less and focused more and more onpainting.

Do you remember your first canvas painted inyour own style?“It was in Samois on the banks of the river Seine, not far fromFontainebleau, and that day I had a blank canvas and mypainting material, I unpacked everything by the riverside, and Istarted painting this stunning landscape at the end of the day andthis is how my journey to my own style started.Now I can say that almost half of my paintings are very figurative,and the other half less figurative, with more technology, morereactions among the colors. Canvases are also becoming largerby the day.

It seems all your paintings refer to landscapes,always leaving room for interpretation, butalways in the nature.Is there a reason behind it?“There was a time when I painted lots of characters, but then youbecome dependent on a person, who has to pose for you oftenmore than once, and it is quite time-consuming.It is also difficult to do so in the middle of the nature, or in just aninstant, you can with watercolor but with oil it takes time.The constraints finally led me to choose landscapes overcharacters.

How do you approach a white canvas?Do you paint with a specific vision in mind?“Yes indeed, I have what we call a glyptic memory.It is a chance; it is quite strong and thanks to it I can memorizeseveral landscapes in a day and reproduce them one, two or threeweeks later without any problem. I memorize them perfectly,without having to take a photograph. Paradoxically, when I try toreproduce a landscape based on a picture, it is a lot less accuratethan the image I would have memorized of it in my brain.

Your relationship to colors“The colors came depending on the hour of the day I was paintingand the places I visited.I painted a lot in the Massif Central in Auvergne, France.My parents had a farm there overlooking the volcanos. I wasfacing West, so I saw the most amazing sunsets, and I found itfascinating to paint this entire chain of volcanos.My latest paintings are more monochrome, with strong and clearcolors like yellow, inspired to me by the region of Beauce, with itslandscapes of never-ending cereal fields.The wheat moves along the wind and gives you the impression ofbeing by the seaside.

The common feature to all your paintings is avanishing point. Is there a meaning behind it?Did it come spontaneously?“It comes from the desire for the eye to travel far.At the beginning, I sold paintings to people who could not affordspacious homes, they were living in confined spaces, and throughmy paintings they were allowed to dream, to travel, to go further,see beyond the wall.

What is the share between the clients’ requestsand the artist’s creative freedom?“There was a time when I travelled from property to property,which allowed me to discover many beautiful homes in our dearcountry. There is no shame in saying that, like many famouspainters long before me, much greater and more recognized, Iwas getting commissioned to paint, this is how it started.Clients were necessarily pleased with the paintings as they wereimposing the subject and the colors, but as time went by, Irealized they started to like my art for what it was andprogressively stopped to impose themes.

How do you explain that the colors of yourpaintings change so much during the day?“It is a technique; I could simply say that I am not the only one.He is a person I absolutely admire, who focuses on monochromepaintings and who is prodigiously alert for his age, as he recentlyturned 100 years old, it is Pierre Soulages.He focuses primarily on textured black paintings, which seem tochange color and transform depending on the angle.My technique is different, but the result is similar, except I do it ina variety of colors.

I had the honor of observing you paint.I was so impressed; it all happens so fast.It is instantaneous, spontaneous, an evidence.Has it always been this way?“Yes of course there is a certain automatism and mastery of thegesture. It is undoubtedly the repetition of the gesture, theautomatism, I do not need to draw on the canvas prior.I just paint directly.

Thank you very much Patrick Vassort for yourtime, it was a true pleasure.“Thank you Nathalie Da Costa. I did not know what to expect asthe questions were not shared in advance, so it was all acomplete surprise. I found it very relevant and was captivated bythis interview, thank you so much.”Thank you Patrick Vassort.”Retranscription of the interview of the Artist Patrick Vassort, by Nathalie Da Costa.Conducted in Paris on March 26th2021 / Photographs owned by Patrick Vassort.www.vassort.art

THE BEGINNING…