Frédérique Assaël is a French painter born in the city of Marseilles in the south of France on the Mediterranean sea. Since her childhood, she has always drawn portraits. During the late 1990’s she worked in several painting workshops in Brussels, Belgium. Back to France, she focused on sanguine and charcoal drawing, concentrating on portraits. Then she approached academic oil painting studying the Masters (Raphael, Leonardo da Vinci, Caravaggio, Balthus, Picasso, Géricault…). She then fully committed to personal work. The Artist suggests reality through figuration and abstraction while drawing on traditional techniques, thus giving free rein to her imagination. Frédérique Assaël focuses on what is most vulnerable and sensitive in her view: the portrait. The face is not what can be seen but rather what escapes our vision. All these faces full of mysteries captivate her. The artist makes her characters oversized in order to create a direct face-to-face with the spectator. The technique is merely a tool that makes her free, allowing her to express her vision. She seeks to decode the mystery of the portrait, describing it and reinventing it in her way. Frédérique Assaël manufactures some of her colors and her linen canvases. She prepares the different layers with mixed techniques creating a network of topographical lines that punctuate the canvas. Her subjects emerge from a fragmented and connected background that is laid on the canvas. This French artist does not use portraits to paint, she strives to use oil painting to transcribe portraits as they appear to her. Member of the Taylor Foundation and of the Salon d’Automne (Paris), she regularly participates in major French exhibitions (National Society of Fine Arts SNBA, the Salon d’Automne Champs-Elysées, Art Capital French Artists, the French School Salon, Biennial of Salon Violet, Biennial of Versailles…) and international exhibitions (Japan, Israël). She received several honors: Bronze Medal at “French Artists exhibition ” 2019, Jury Award at “French Artists Exhibition” 2018, Public Award “Chesnay’Art Exhibition” 2017, Russian Embassy Award 2016, First Price Painting Award in many exhibitions… Several solo exhibitions were also dedicated to her in France: Croissy 2018, Chesnay’Art 2017, Château Chanorier 2016, Special Guest Fontenay 2015, Nath’s Hall Neuilly 2015, retrospective in St Nom la Bretèche 2014, Thalès 2014, Vinci 2013, Christiane Peugeot Cultural Center 2012, General Consulate of Colombia in Paris in 2011. Frédérique Assaël regularly performs private commissions. Represented by Karin Carton Gallery on Artsy. In the press… Emmanuel Fèvre, journalist, daily newspaper Nouvelles de Versailles : “The fantastic portraits of Frédérique ASSAËL. Piercing looks faces emerging from the mist, Frédérique ASSAËL’s paintings act as a flash on the retina. With almost mathematical compositions, tight framings, nothing pointless appears on the canvas, everything aims at the look… Connected with comics, the painter’s work is very graphic, another sign of her command of proportions. She sets herself free from technical constraints in order to create her own world. A world laid on canvas she manufactures herself with undercoats prepared according to the subject. These preparations owe nothing to chance, they lie at the root of a colorimetric depth recognizable at first sight, making the charm of this atypical painter. Raw canvas appearances, thicknesses, scrapings, cracks, and wrinkles then give rhythm to the composition by creating a palpable tension due to the strength of the look but also to this flirting with abstraction, this haziness, this explosion that surrounds the model and aims at the eyes.” Thierry B., Art Collector “In her work, Frédérique Assaël seeks to express our inner nature hidden behind our social facade. The artist explores our secret side with the five senses. The canvas that scratches the skin awakens touch. The aesthetics of the ears lead to a hearing, the contours of the lips and of the nose emphasize the senses of taste and smell. The eyes are two doors that open on the soul of the model. The artist translates the history written in the flesh of the characters. An interchange between the five senses that aims at discovering the other through his humanity.” Dairy newspaper, Versailles: “… The guiding principle consists in these eyes that make her paintings so lively, the reflection of a soul that seems to inhabit each painting. From her Mediterranean origins, Frédérique ASSAËL keeps a fiery and passionate temperament…” Muriel Degavre, Deputy Maire in charge of cultural affairs, St Nom la Bretèche (France) “Combining her perfect mastery of ancient techniques with modern compositions and rich palettes subtly worked, Frédérique ASSAËL surprises and questions us. She amazes us for her paintings are such a successful bridge between past and present.” Diane Corson, President Biennale de Fontenay le Fleury (France) “Strength and fragility confront one another in Frédérique ASSAËL’s work in a subtle, almost monochrome palette which signs the overall work of this artist in perpetual search, yet manages to unveil the mysteries of the look which has always fascinated her.”
Details
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ArtistFréderique ASSAËL(1965, FRENCH)
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Creation Year2019
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DimensionsHeight: 51.19 in. (130 cm)Width: 38.19 in. (97 cm)Depth: 1.97 in. (5 cm)
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MediumOil
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Movement & StyleContemporary
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Period2010-
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ConditionNew
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Gallery LocationPasadena, CA
