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In French, Les Fauves means “the wild beasts.” This is worth noting because French-Canadian painter Pierre Juteau has developed a highly intellectual approach… |
In French, Les Fauves means “the wild beasts.” This is worth noting
because French-Canadian painter Pierre Juteau has developed a highly
intellectual approach to art making that has led him to build his work
upon the joyous freedom and deceptively “primitive” style of the
Fauves. This dénouement is the result of the ambitious goal Juteau
set for himself when he began painting in 1990; he studied the past and
present in order to discover the future in his quest to achieve
artistic timelessness. As Juteau boldly puts it, “I want the messages
included in my paintings to hit you, forever.”An
engineer by formal education and a self-taught artist, Juteau believes
that he has discovered a key to art immortality by applying a
philosophic-scientific method to creating art and depicting the human
spirit. Juteau studied the texts of famed French physicist-theorist
Jean-Émile Charon and his thoughts on M-Theory, which is, in essence,
an attempt to formulate one sole scientific law that can explain the
nature of the universe. Charon expanded the concept to postulate that
the universe has direct a relationship to the human spirit. Juteau
adapted these ideas and applied it to his art by asserting that there
are two critical factors that determine the longevity of painting:
texture and matter (also called particles). By layering paint on the
canvas, Juteau builds up course textures. The particles in the textures
help to form hidden shapes and images that aren’t noticeable at first
glance. This technique enhances Juteau’s work and rewards the viewer
who scrutinizes his paintings to find the hidden meanings within.Juteau
explains, “Texture was the answer. I started doing texture with sand to
make particles and, slowly, over ten years, I worked more and more with
texture to get the human spirit, the aura of the anti-matters. At the
same time, I was looking to include more than three dimensions, such as
the fourth (time), but I was also wondering how to apply the M theory
(in which there are a purported 11 dimensions of the universe) to get
the full universe. I put up to 25 layers of acrylic on one painting to
create dimensions. I create matter and sub-matter by applying abstract
textures under the figurative painting that spawns hundreds of complex
images in the painting.” Although Juteau’s interest in M-Theory and its
adaptation to his art are intriguing, you don’t have to be a physicist
to enjoy his paintings. His subject matter is engaging: colorful people
dancing and undulating out of doors and at festivals to celebrate the
human spirit. Luminous animal scenes are favorite subjects of his too.
All are portrayed with abandon, using radiant colors.The
painting Top Model exemplifies Juteau’s vision and saturated hues,
along with the layers of paint, grab and hold the eye. Juteau’s loose
and playful brush gives a lively sense of lyrical movement. Also, when
one looks closely at the painting’s brushstrokes, the intentionally
abstract shapes and patterns can suggest any number of additional
images. That Juteau’s work comes across as vibrant and spontaneous
completely belies the intense experimentation and study that went into
it.So, while Juteau’s theories are important because they give
him what he needs to push his artistic growth, it is his natural
talent, color schemes, subject matter and textures that make his work
so striking and appealing. Is his work timeless? It is hard to say;
ultimately that judgment will be made by people yet unborn. Hopefully
they will recognize that Juteau’s work defines his vision of the human
spirit.
