When you enter Michel Marant's house, you enter his world.
A universe of colors, drawings, paintings and objects that he decorated himself. The paintings are everywhere, on all the walls, placed on the floor, on his easel.
Now retired, Michel Marant has art in his skin. Painting, drawing, colors, it's his whole life.
Elected honorary artist of the year 2024 by Éditions des Musées et de la Culture Europe, the painter Saint-Juniaud sees himself inheriting new recognition for the quality of his works.
Decorated by the Academy of Lecce
“Recognition of work is the most important thing for me. I've never seen these people before, they just spotted my paintings in galleries and on the internet. I have already been decorated by the Academy of Lecce in Italy. I am recognized abroad. »
Former head decorator of Grands Magasins (Au Printemps, Galeries Lafayette, Grands Magasins du Louvre, etc.), Michel Marant is a prolific artist. He has produced 90 works in 2024 alone.
I have always painted. I paint every day, but when I get tired of it, I stop. It's not the factory.
“I have always painted. I paint every day, but when I get tired of it, I stop. It's not the factory. I started with figurative painting and landscapes or still lifes. But when you do creative painting, you should only dedicate yourself to that. Before, I had a workshop in Rochechouart, but for the past ten years, I have been working at home. »
For him, painting is a way of expressing the sensations, the emotions felt in front of a landscape or current events. Like an illustrated message.
“As for inspiration, I have nothing preconceived. I take a canvas, my charcoal, I draw a line and it goes like that, I don't ask myself any questions. Afterwards, I can start with a theme that I break down into several paintings. It's the placement of the colors on the board that matters. In some paintings, there are only two primary colors, such as blue and yellow. I worked a lot with red too. But I don't impose anything on myself. At the moment, I like painting small houses, always in Limousin landscapes, because the countryside is hilly, it's gentle. »
Exhibition in 2025 in Rome and at the Grand Palais in Paris
At 80 this year, Michel Marant is a name in the art world.
Listed for a long time, his paintings are estimated at up to €9,000 for large formats. But the artist lowers prices to facilitate access to the public.
“My reward is to be recognized by the art world” insists the artist who will exhibit this year at the Grand Palais in Paris, with two selected paintings.
Without ever soliciting anyone, Michel Marant is present in Parisian galleries, including the prestigious Passage Vivienne in Paris.
This year will be marked by an exhibition in Rome for 10 days in May. He will try to get there, because Italian TV is waiting for him.
But it is in Saint-Junien that Michel Marant likes it.
In September at the Halle aux Grains
The public will be able to admire his works during an exhibition dedicated to him in Saint-Junien, in September, at the Halle aux Grains.
Paintings are also presented at the restaurant Le Vieux Moulin in Chabanais.
Contact. michel-marant.com or 06.11.91.45.25.
