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En 1980,
Roland Palmaerts émigre au Canada. Il travaille d’abord comme
concepteur et illustrateur auprès d’importantes agences de
publicité. Il expose intensivement durant quatre années le fruit de
son travail d’artiste.
Devant
le succès de ses expositions, en 1984, Roland Palmaerts décide de se
consacrer exclusivement à la peinture et à l’aspect didactique de
celle-ci. Possédant une solide base en dessin et en peinture à
l’huile, l’artiste privilégie durant vingt ans l’aquarelle comme
principale mode d’expression.
En 1990,
une monographie publiée aux Éditons De Mortagne intitulée «
Palmaerts, l’homme, l’artiste » souligne son parcours en 120 pages.
Roland
Palmaerts a plus d’une centaine d’exposition à son actif,
principalement concentrées au Canada et en Europe. Il a animé
au-delà de 125 émissions de télévision. Il a conçu et mis sur le
marché plusieurs produits artistiques dont deux cassettes vidéos
didactiques traduites en quatre langues. Il souhaite un jour exposer
au Japon et aux Etats-Unis.
Roland
Palmaerts est membre de la Société Canadienne d’Aquarelle (S.C.A.),
de l’Institut Européen de l’Aquarelle (I.E.A.) et a été durant cinq
ans président de l’Institut des arts figuratifs (I.A.F.).
« Vingt
années d’aquarelle ont été nécessaires afin de maîtriser la
rapidité, les formes, la transparence, la lumière et quelques
vérités que je veux partager. »
Les
œuvres présentées ici sont des acryliques sur toile et témoignent de
nouveaux cycles créatifs pour l’artiste.
L’œuvre actuelle
Roland
Palmaerts traduit les dualités de la vie et de la mort, du bien et
du mal en superbes lavis ou riches textures; en tons vifs, clairs ou
contrastés. Dans une abondance de sujets ou à l’inverse dans un
dépouillement « Zen ». Dans une gestuelle explosive et puissante
contrebalancée d’un brossé doux e langoureux.
Contrairement à la plupart des artistes, il ne prépare pas ses
tableaux avant l’action. Il explore des flux d’énergie librement
déposés sur le support et engage un dialogue dans lequel ses
émotions, ses idées et ses techniques lui permettent de « servir
l’œuvre en devenir, plutôt que l’asservir » en inscrivant, par le
dessin, ses contours et limites dès la naissance de celle-ci.
La
symbolique transposée dans son œuvre musicale permet à l’artiste de
poursuivre et de confirmer sa philosophie, à savoir « tout est
vibration et en mouvement, donc musique. L’esprit est uni à la
matière comme l’âme au corps, le musicien à son instrument. Sans
cette communion, la matière n’est que nature morte… Pendant cette
brève fusion d’un temps naissent toutes les nuances des symphonies :
mélodies, complaintes, requiem… Chacun d’entre-nous possède sa
couleur, son identité et crée ses difficultés et bonheurs, choisit
ses notes, remplit sa partition pour ensuite l’interpréter dans
l’œuvre de sa vie. En tant qu’artiste, je tente d’abord de rendre
perceptible l’invisible. Je souhaite qu’on voie la musique et qu’on
entende les tableaux. »
Marc de Roussan
Roland Palmaerts
was born October 4, 1953 in Brussels, Belgium. He comes from a
family of artists and grew up surrounded by paintings by his father
and great-grandfather. When he was six, he won first prize in the
national Tintin Contest. Roland Palmaerts studied at the Athénée,
the Institute Saint-Luc and the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in
Brussels where he received first prize in watercolour painting.
In 1972, the
artist joined the para-commando unit of the Belgian army. During his
army career, he earned several certificates, including that of
instuctor and jump leader. Looking back on this period, he
acknowledges it as the most physical of his life and one that
instilled a deep sens of self discipline and endurance. These years
also taught him much about human nature, as an average of one
thousand men, from all walks his unit each year, « bringing their
strenghs and their weaknesses, their courage and their fears,
trusting you with their life. »
In 1978, Roland
Palmaerts was assigned to His Royal Highness, Prince Philip of
Belgium, during his stint at the parachute training center. At the
same time, the artist was also finishing off the last Chinese ink
drawings for his firts solo show, entitled « Men of the world ».
In 1980, Roland
Palmaerts emigrated to Canada. He first worked as a designer and
illustrator for several major advertising agencies. For four years
he gave frequent showings of his artistic endeavours.
His exhibitons
proved so successful that in 1984 Roland Palmaerts decided to devote
himself full-time to painting, particularly to its teaching
potential. With a solid formation in drawing and oil-painting, he
concentraded on watercolour and for twenty years made this his
principal medium.
In 1990 Editions
Mortagne published a monograph entitidled « Palmaerts, the man and
the artist », devoting 120 pages to his career.
Roland Palmaerts
has had more than 100 exhibitions, mainly in Canada and Europe. He
has also hosted over 125 television shows. He has disigned and
marketed several artistic products, including two teaching videos
which have been translated into four languages. One day he would
like to show in Japan and U.S.
Roland Palmaerts
is a member of the Canadian Society of Painters in Watercolour, the
European Institute of Watercolour and was president of the Institute
of Figurative Art for five years.
« It took twenty
years of working with watercolour before I was able to master its
fluidity, form, transparency, light, and a few other truths I want
to share. »
Present work
Roland Palmaerts
skillfully interprets the dualities of life and death, good and
evil, with superb colour washes or rich textures; with vivid, clear
or contrasting tones; with an abundance of subject matter or the
reverse, a Zen-like, spare simplicity; with strong explosive
gestures balanced by soft, languid brush strokes.
Contrary to most
artists, he never prepares his canvasses beforehand. He explores the
ebb and flow of energy liberally brushed on the surface, engaging in
a dialogue with his emotions, ideas and techniques which allow him
to « serve the emerging work, rather than be enslaved by it, »
drawing the outlines of the work as soon as it takes form.
The artist uses
the symbolism of music to express the philosophy behind his work «
there is vibration and movement = music in other words – in every
thing. The mind is linked to the subject like the soul to the body,
the musician to his instument. Withour such communion, the subject
is no more than a still-life … All the nuances of a symphony come
together in a brief moment of time – melody, lament, requiem… Each
one of us possesses his own colour, his identity, and creates his
own joys and sorrows, chooses his own notes, writes his own score
and then performs it in the work that is his life. As an artist, I
first try to make visible what is invisible. I want people to see
the music and hear the paintings. »
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