If like me you enjoy watercolour painting then get along to the lovely southern French town of Narbonne. For the second edition of their watercolour biennial the association, aud'aquarelle have got together a really impressive number of painters from all over the world.
Here's what I wrote for the the magazine BBB Midi of which I'm arts editor:
Biennale
de l'aquarelle de Narbonne.
1st
to 26th
October 2014 in various locations around Narbonne
www.aud-aquarelle.com
When
I wrote my first book, “L'aquarelle, Art de la Transparence” in
1994, watercolour in France was seen as very much a minor art, the
preferred medium of amateur ladies in little associations around
France or used for 'carnets de voyage', small sketch book drawings
with added colour done on holiday, a very French tradition. Elsewhere
in Europe a strong revival was under way, German and Austrian
painters in particular were reinventing the way watercolour was used
and for many years I had the good fortune to be counted among these
painters when I exhibited in their countries.*
Now
twenty years later there is a renewed interest here in France for
l'aquarelle; numerous books detail the various techniques and the
splendid new colours and papers that are now available to painters.
There are even galleries specializing in watercolour and
interestingly several Biennials devoted to the subject, the latest of
which, begun in 2012, is in our nearby town of Narbonne and organised
by the association Aud'Aquarelle.
For
this second edition at the chapel des Penitents Bleus there are the
seven invited painters, well displayed on the walls of this fine old
building; at La
Salle des Consuls there is the Concours
mondial d’Aquarelle, one of the more prestigious international
prizes for watercolour which this year features painters from all
over the world working in a wondrous variety of styles and in other
parts of town there are paintings at the Chapelle
des Jacobins, fifteen artists chosen by the Association
Aud'aquarelle,
paintings by children at the Mairie and much more.
Many
of the painters whose work is on show this year are well known;
Alvaro Castagnet, who paints vivid impressionist compositions of
streets and interiors as well as impressive views of towns; Marc
Folly whose work has appeared in many magazines over the past few
years and who has a nice painterly touch; Shirley Trevena who has a
bold way with colour and forms and who has become a well known
exhibitor at many UK and European shows.
Although
many of the works here treat rather traditional subjects, I was
pleased to see the work of Tan Suz Chiang from Malaysia and liked the
delicate expressive marks and use of washes in “Relationship #2”
or the slightly menacing character of Stanislav Zoldadz's “ Windy
day”.
In
short there is much to see in the seven exhibition locations around
Narbonne for anyone interested in watercolour and such an event will
certainly give the medium a long deserved boost in France –
watercolour is perhaps the most difficult medium in which to paint
allowing of few corrections and demanding a sureness of touch in
composition and use of colour but the technique, when used in
conjunction with good draughtsmanship and modern materials, can be
truly exciting. Importantly, new strong, light fast and affordable
colours are now available in bigger tubes making possible works on a
scale difficult to realise a few years ago.
Until
recently drawing was not taught in many art schools and I think
evidence of this can be seen in the obvious use of photographs by
rather too many painters in the exhibition lending a static, rather
lifeless aspect to their work.
S
Fletcher 2014
*H
Janssen, E Nolde, O Kokoshka, G Salzmann, Hradil
www.simonfletcher.org
