ART-PRESENTATION: Stéphane Dafflon-SPLIT
Stéphane Dafflon’s paintings seem simple and minimalist at first, but attest to his strong pictorial skills. Initially designed on a computer screen and then copied out onto a canvas or wall, his paintings bear the markings of art history while cementing themselves as works with graphic design influences. They display smooth geometric shapes blended together in a variety of colours whose striking visual magnetism entices the eye.
By Dimitris Lempesis
Photo:Xippas Gallery Archive
Stéphane Dafflon’s works have generic forms and coded titled – e.g. AST for “acrylique sur toile” (acrylic on canvas), PM for “peintures murales” (wall paintings), all numbered in chronological order). Stéphane Dafflon gathers 13 paintings for ”SPLIT”, his solo exhibition in Montevideo. Initially designed on a computer screen and then copied out onto a canvas or wall, his paintings bear the markings of art history while cementing themselves as works with graphic design influences. They display smooth geometric shapes blended together in a variety of colors. This is how Stéphane Dafflon’s work awakens our senses. As if he, in order to compose and create, uses music and its vibrations. A visual rhythm is generated through the composition of his paintings as well as the way he organizes them in their given space. Incorporating arrangements of diverse patterns into his paintings allows the artist to reaffirm the foundations of abstract art: acting upon the spectator, is like asking him to change his perspective and views of the world. The works of Stéphane Dafflon are created in situ; they are calibrated on the contingencies of their given space, adapting to coexist with their new environment. Sometimes, a wall fragments the work and, therefore, becomes part of it. In other occasions, the pieces merge into their surroundings giving a new identity and meaning to the architecture, as a path between the floor and the ceiling. The sharp shapes fade slowly, as if they were upset. The patterns are transformed into vibrating waves, echoing in the emptiness of their environment. In “SPLIT”, the artist displays a series of stretched triangles that are associated under the clear influence of lights and shades, thus generating a feeling of volume on the canvas. This visual effect allows the viewer to perceive a clear notion of distance, which can be accentuated by the situation of the spectator in the exhibition space.
Info: Xippas Gallery, Bartolomé Mitre 1395, Montevideo, Duration: 6/12/18-2/3/19, Days & Hours: Tue-Fri 11:00-18:00, Sat 11:0-15:00, www.xippas.com
