In Brussels, Bilal Hamdad exhibits his very contemporary paintings

Upon entering the gallery, the usual silence of the white walls gives way to a hubbub: conversations, background music, bursts of laughter… At least that is the sound impression that emerges. large canvases what Bilal Hamdad (born in 1987) presents between the Brussels walls of gallery owner Daniel Templon. Their characters, facing us, are installed in bars, cafes, on terraces; they converse, confide. Hidden in the shadows, the cooks and waiters work, invisible forces of daily life.

From the outset, the impression is that of a absolute virtuosity. There is technique, even genius, in this vivid representation of Parisian life. The young painter has the art of representing expressions, astonishment, shifty glances, distracted expressions. In front of his large format works, these remarkably orchestrated stagingswe say to ourselves that he knows how to look around him, that he has an eye – and that, therefore, the man is tender, or rather tender, who focuses on the anonymous, manages to perceive them.

“I was focused on football”

So much for the first impression, which does not reveal the full depth of his work, including the look was cultivated by the great masters of paintingDiego Vélasquez (1599–1660) then Édouard Manet (1832–1883), to whom he addressed numerous nods in his paintings. But let’s go back a little. The artist, discreet, calm, tells us about his first steps in a small village called Sfisef in the north of Algeria, then in a nearby town, Sidi Bel Abbès. “I was focused on football,” he says today, smiling, “not really on studies.”