Exposition de peinture «LE CINEMA EN PROVENCE»

Dates: 15 April – 14 May 2017

15 – 28 April - plein air sessions and the creation of more than 20 paintings by two gallery artists - Slava Likhachyov and Ekaterina Pugachyova

22 April, 14.00 – a joint masterclass with artists of the Bandol Academy of Fine Arts and its founder, a pupil of Salvador Dalí, Geneviève Canto, open to all

29 April, 17.00-20.00 - exhibition opening, vernissage, a performance by students of the Russian school of Toulon, champagne, a buffet. Musical accompaniment by the renowned French pianist and composer Paul Lelouch.

Guest of honour at the vernissage – André Laban - artist, cameraman, engineer-inventor who worked with Jacques-Yves Cousteau for more than 35 years. André Laban will present at the vernissage his paintings created underwater.

Venue: Hostellerie La Farandole hotel www.hostellerielafarandole.com

France, Provence, Sanary-sur-Mer, 140 Chemin de la Plage, 83110

Free admission.

Works are available for purchase.

"The art of French cinema
Implies a car, a conversation in the sun,
A fate broken like a biscuit,
A meeting of a man with a woman who is not his,
And then with a woman who smokes on an empty stomach.
There must be many more moments
From which a headache tablet
Might dissolve right into the air.
And in the finale, when everyone gets some kind of chance,
They send a boy for wine, and he
Spends it all on confetti..." 

Sergey Timofeev

And if you want to understand what the art of Provence cinema is, add to this the waves of the azure sea, endless lavender fields, the noise of the ports, mountain switchbacks, picturesque vineyards and the ringing trills of cicadas... Provence has always been  an inexhaustible source of inspiration for writers and directors.

That is why the gallery "Kvartira S" decided that the theme "Cinema in Provence" would be a fine idea for a series of paintings!

From 15 April to 14 May the Russian gallery "Kvartira S" organised at the hotel "Hostellerie La Farandole" its second international art project. This time the theme of the plein air sessions and the two-week exhibition was "Cinema in Provence". 

Over 15 days the gallery artists - Slava Likhachev and Ekaterina Pugacheva - visited the locations where masterpieces of world cinema were made and created their own painterly masterpieces. The series of engaging plein air sessions included a visit to the station where the first film in the world was shot, the town of Gordes, made famous by the film "A Good Year", the picturesque road in Cassis along which the hero of "Taxi 2" raced, and many other places familiar from the films.

On 22 April the gallery held a joint Russian-French plein air with the participation of students of the Bandol Academy of Arts and its founder, a pupil of Salvador Dalí, Geneviève Canto.

The official opening of the exhibition took place on 29 April in the salons of the hotel "Farandole".

 Project participants: 

Ekaterina Pugachyova. Born and based in Moscow. She graduated from art school and the Russian State University for the Humanities, and later completed the Interior Decoration course at the British Higher School of Art and Design. For several years, she has designed public spaces for bars, restaurants, and shops. She is deeply devoted to art. She is currently studying at Moscow artist Andrey Sharov’s studio.

I do not think of this as a project. I want to immerse myself in the rhythm of life in these places, dividing the day into before and after noon. The Italians call everything that unfolds around midday “dolce niente.” That is how I imagine the mood of this journey. By immersing myself in this mood, I can share my emotions through colour, light, and the line that divides them—shadow. I would like to convey to the viewer a feeling that can only be experienced by living in Provence...

Slava Likhachyov. He began painting in early childhood—attending art school, art college, and the Stroganov Institute. From 1997 to 2013, he lived and worked in San Francisco, where he participated in group exhibitions and won various design competitions. He paints landscapes, sketches, caricatures, and fantastical scenes, working primarily in watercolour.

I am delighted to have been given this wonderful opportunity to visit Provence! It is both fascinating and thrilling to immerse myself in the vivid colours and heady fragrances of this corner of France, to breathe the air once breathed by the great artists Cézanne, Van Gogh, and other Impressionists. I believe the palette of Provence will bring new colours to my art. The theme “Cinema in Provence” is also very compelling. I am watching films shot there and counting the days until the journey.
I plan to take a deep breath so that, by 29 April, I can “breathe out” my impressions of Provence. 
I would like to try painting a watercolour using white and red wine...!

André Laban. Special guest and honorary participant of the exhibition. An artist, cameraman, and engineer-inventor who worked on Jacques Cousteau’s “Odyssey,” lived at a depth of 100 metres for an entire month, filmed and photographed underwater, studied the sea, and fell so deeply in love with it that he began painting underwater. ADME article about André.

At the exhibition on 29 April, André will present ten of his canvases.

People sometimes ask me: “Haven’t you grown tired of painting the same picture?” But in fact it is not the same picture. It is blue, I grant you that. Yet the sea, as the poet said: “The sea is eternal in its renewal…”. And though the waves follow one upon another, they are not the same. I have heard from several people that my canvases convey energy… The sea holds immeasurable energy… This energy, this mad energy of the sea—perhaps it imparts a share of its energy to me? And perhaps it is through the paintings that I manage to pass it on to those who look at them?

You can read our story about André Laban here. 

Master class and friendly gathering, 22 April 2017: 

On Saturday, 22 April 2017, at 2:00 p.m., the Kvartira S gallery held a Russo-French friendly gathering and art master class with the participation of Russian artists Slava Likhachev (Moscow) and Ekaterina Pugacheva (Moscow) and artists of the Academy of Arts of Bandol. The flagship of this creative meeting of two nations was the artist and decorator, founder of the Academy of Arts (Bandol), pupil of Salvador Dalí — Madame Geneviève Canto.

The event took place in the grand hall of the restaurant at the hotel La Farandole. Century-old pines and olive trees, a quiet beach, and a magnificent sea view fostered an extraordinary creative atmosphere, a dialogue of cultures, easy conversation, and an exchange of artistic experience.

 Exhibition and vernissage photos: 

Master class

Vernissage

The exhibition in the media: 

Announcement of the vernissage “Cinema in Provence” from the Var department information blog

Poster and announcement of the vernissage “Cinema in Provence” in La Russie Francophone

A large group interview with all participants of the “Cinema in Provence” project in Evasion Mag magazine

The vernissage “Cinema in Provence” through the eyes of the French press — Evasion Mag magazine