From October 14 to November 13, 2010, Raynald Driez invests space 2 of the gallery Polad Hardouin with a very baroque exhibition: «Baronne, je vous aime»

A set of ink drawings, ceramics and paintings make up a secret chamber, where we can follow the fantasy character of the Baroness in her erotic adventures. The Baroness, walked and battered through drawings and paintings, is someone between a decadent Demonia and a poisonous Venus by Klimt. The atmosphere is based on contrasts: the delicate Rococo decoration clashes with the colours and the triviality of the scenes. Vitriolic paintings are inscribed in a smooth, almost kitsch setting.

«Baronne, je vous aime» is the culmination of a research that took a few detours. The artist turned from pastel to ink. A set of ink drawings on ancient paper will be presented. Also exhibited for the first time are the ceramic works by the artist, who explored the possibilities of modeling and relief to stage the haunting image of the Baroness. Some of the drawings are framed by delicate, porcelain-tinted roses. The artist does not hesitate to borrow his vocabulary from funerary monuments, while diverting it entirely. Sweetness competes with humour.

The background of some of his paintings is made of an old wallpaper, which becomes the walls of the Baroness’s room. The rock volutes resonate with the furniture, the cameos, the jewelry and butterflies. They evoke the atmosphere of eighteenth century aristocratic portraits and form the setting of this luxurious theatre, dominated by the sensuality of the flesh, the thickness of paint and the savagery of the scenes. With «Baronne, je vous aime», Raynald Driez gives us a very surprising, uncompromising ensemble, where obscenity and delicacy lead a dance in celebration of life and love.

Free and fluid texts and poems by the artist, echoing the erotic poetry of Verlaine and Rimbaud, fuel the “fin de siècle” fantasy of the cycle. A small booklet will be issued on this occasion.

Raynald Driez was born in 1974 in Vendée. He graduated from the Ecole des Beaux-Arts de Bordeaux, which he attended from 1994 to 1999. He made several personal exhibitions in France, in particular at the gallery Deborah Zafman in Paris. For several years, he has been teaching art within the organization La Source, founded by Gérard Garouste. This is his first personal exhibition at the gallery Polad Hardouin.