Every week, Philippe Lacoche gives us news from Picardy…
The province, too, has no shortage of ideas. The Amiens painter, designer and cartoonist Daniel Grardel exhibited his works from December 7 to 15, at the La Dodane gallery, in the heart of the Saint-Leu district, in Amiens. He has what is commonly called a leg. He evolves far, so far, from abstract painting which, it must be admitted, through its abstruse excesses, begins to nous gifts grave as the young people say. Nor does he indulge in realism or pictorial naturalism. No, Grardel (retired teacher, double of the late Ricet Barrier and Pierre Vassiliu) is elsewhere. He practices a very colorful, rock’n’roll, sensual and erotic style of fairground painting, sometimes provocative; he takes pleasure in describing nocturnal scenes from the bistros of the Picardy capital. Scenes mostly escaped from his imagination; he fills them with characters from Amiens (artists, elected officials – including Fred Thorel, former deputy for culture, who never goes out without his indescribable wooden bow tie!) but also with singers, actors, known and recognized painters whom he likes (Gainsbourg, Chris Evans, Lucky Blondo, Annie Philippe, Christophe, etc.). These paintings could be reminiscent of those of Clovis Trouille, another very talented Picard born in La Fère, in Aisne. The girls, barely dressed, wear silky suspender belts; the men drink more than they should and smoke with pleasure. In short: we are a thousand eyes away from the nauseating ambient wokism and the right-thinking police. (During this same exhibition, a local ultra-feminist came to the gallery to attack Daniel, whom she lectured, accusing him of painting women-objects of questionable virtue. We are in right to burst out laughing in the face of such imbecility.)
Also read: Notre-Dame, glassy stained glass windows
Our man doesn’t just like painting and rock’n’roll; he also loves literature. So he had the idea of inviting a few of his writer friends every day to sign their books; Isabelle Marsay, the actor and director Jean-Michel Noirey, Elisabeth Grardel, Patrick Poitevin (author of hard-hitting thrillers including the latest, The being of sealspublished by Editions des Petits Ruisseaux), Patrick Kaczmarek (family doctors and activist), Claude Tillier, Jean-Louis Crimon, Hervé Jovelin (who has just been released Gospel of the Foolat L’Harmattan), etc. Yé-yé star of the sixties, Annie Philippe traveled from Paris to the Dodane gallery to visit her friend Grardel; she was accompanied by director Nicolas Engel who has adapted musicals to Mogador and is currently putting on the show Tootsiein Montreal. He is also filming a documentary on Claude François’ ex-fiancée. That day, fans of the sixties came in large numbers. The atmosphere was warm and the Chinon was of excellent quality. Christophe and Gainsbourg took the trouble to come out of Daniel’s paintings to greet Annie, delighted. The evening continued very late in the bistros of the Saint-Leu district. But that’s another story…
