Antoine Baer

Born in 1973 in Carpentras, Antoine BAER was admitted in 1994 to the ENSBA Paris (1994-2000). During his studies, he joined the studio of Vincent Bioulès, his studio teacher, whose work on motifs fascinated him, thus forging his artistic identity. "I paint characters in different situations where nature plays a preponderant role, if not the main one. Scenes that would have taken place in the past, that could take place today or in the near future, tomorrow... A way of evoking the human condition in what it has of permanent despite the changes to which it must constantly adapt. The use of traditional technical tools such as painting - which is the one I have always practiced - seems to me to be the most appropriate way to evoke the immutability of our existence: childhood, work and rest, social life, combat, love, death, sharing... In my work, I try to value textures and natural phenomena, which occur logically and are the same since the practice of painting and drawing exists. It's a way to make a link with everything that preceded me, to put forward what remains today and what will last in spite of all the new technologies that surround us. Figures, workshop subjects, object layouts, interiors with windows, landscapes - recurrent in my plastic work - are chosen from my direct environment. The scenes with characters are the result of my research, most of them come from current events or are borrowed from the history of painting, French classicism in particular and Nicolas Poussin. They are often represented in reflection, introspection, sometimes in discussion. They question by their behaviour, their posture, which show resilient elements of response to face the changes that are coming. "Artists whose work interests and influences me: Patrice Giorda, Damien Cabanne, Ronan Barrot, Vincent Bébert.