Emmanuelle Messika Portrait Paintings

Acrylic paint on canvas Signed Artist’s statement : "Painting, for me, is an expressive endeavor in which one depicts the evolution of the various facets of the artistic self. There is, on each canvas, a tension where violence and stillness naturally coexist. By playing with different materials, I seek to establish a sort of unexpected dialogue between these states, and aspire to express this tension through profusion of color. The canvas is the stage that allows me to unite narration with the action of painting the fantastic—even the outrageous---and the everyday. I develop scenarios borrowed from the imagination, which join fantasy, even fables, with the everyday. Pulling threads from each domain, I bring together the mythical and the quotidian, so that the worlds of reality and fantasy merge. I rely on “creatures,” improbable little characters that could exist in some other realm or dimension. They materialize, issuing forth from the surprising, unbelievable and wondrous world of childhood. Human or animal, both find themselves entangled in inextricable and melancholic situations. These inextricable situations create distance; the humor comes through this breach. It is the absurdity of their predicaments that manifests the humor in the work. In each of my paintings, the sentiments are heightened by an intentional, provocative tone that transforms the work. An Otherness is attributed to objects; objects become personified, and by their very presence, they become witnesses or guinea pigs torn between and bound to their dilemma. The titles of my paintings, whether invented or quotations taken out of context, come from literature, theater, or song lyrics. Accident and chance are often major actors in my work.” Emmanuelle Messika BIOGRAPHY : Emmanuelle Messika was born in France in 1979. She works and lives in Paris. STUDIES 1999-2005 École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts de Paris Diplômée en Juin 2005 2004 Échange universitaire à Hunter College, New York NY, USA 1993-1999 Ateliers des Beaux-Arts de la Ville de Paris, Montparnasse PERSONAL EXHIBITIONS : 2019 Claire Corcia Gallery, Paris 2018 Claire Corcia Gallery, Paris Outsider Art Fair, Paris 2012 Art Contemporain Sèvres, "La Chartreuse", Sèvres 2011 Espace Seven, Galerie De Vos, Paris 2010 Les Trois Baudets, Paris Galerie Mariska Hammoudi, Paris Galerie Crous -Beaux-Arts, Paris L'Apparemment Café, Paris 2009 Espace Rachi, Paris 2008 Galerie Console, Paris 2007 Exposition Place du Québec, Mairie du sixième, Paris 2006 Galerie Eonnet-Dupuis, Paris 2005 Galerie Crous Beaux Arts, Paris 2004 The Mark Bar, "Bring your own flashlight", Brooklin, New York 2003 Le Glaz’art, Paris 2002 9 rue Dauphine, Paris 2001 Galerie Gauche, École des Beaux-Arts, Paris 2000 La grosse caisse, Paris La liberté, Paris GROUP SHOWS 2011 Chic Art Fair, Galerie Mariska Hammoudi Galerie De Vos, Espace Seven 2010 Galerie Mariska Hammoudi, Paris Chic Dessin, avec Cherry Gallery...