Marc Desgrandchamps is known for his impressive oil paintings playing with transparency and double exposure, painted with the confidence of someone who truly masters their art, as well as large gouaches on paper mounted on canvas, with precise lines and intense colours that give the subjects of
his paintings a new materiality.

In addition to the technical aspects, these works are capturing the viewer’s attention touching on topics of a troubling world – rendering an aesthetic conversation of the state we’re in. What makes Desgrandchamps’ art so unique is his handling of the depths of the vast landscapes that appear to stretch into infinity, his ghostly silhouettes that blur the boundary between dream and reality and the scattered objects in landscapes where time appears to be frozen.

Marc Desgrandchamps disrupts the classic codes of representation to take us suddenly, to a time in cinematic suspension, both near and far.

Typically, his paintings don’t have titles and relate mostly to photography and cinema. His references are often ancient and modern paintings from museums, from Poussin to Beckmann to Malevich. Over these he superimposes film stills, photographs taken during his travels and sometimes images clipped from the press.

Their essentially figurative and realistic character shows that his paintings are no exception to the principle of migration of forms and attitudes. The viewer may recall an antique relief or a figure on a vase, however, these almost academic references to the art of the past are enriched by cinematic references, holiday photos and probably childhood memories.

Desgrandchamps‘ specific process of representation is complex and thematically opened up over the years tackling new subjects along with technical changes. His work has enabled him to combine painterly realism with a dreamlike, layered illusion.

Marc Desgrandchamps is represented by Lelong Gallery and EIGEN+ART Gallery

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