Cécile Coiffard

art corner

About

Tactile and organic painter, Cécile Coiffard born in Paris in 1963, is living in Berlin since the wall came down. Here’s what she says about her work... 
"Among all the different media I have ever experimented with, sand is one of the most versatile. It has been inspirational and has exceeded all my expectations through its playful texture, grain, volume and colour. Sand is disarming in its simplicity and its roughness but also by the poetry and the symbols it contains. All the sand I use for my work has been collected during my different trips around the world or by enthusiastic supporters.
Besides, I enjoy to respond to challenges which take me out of my «sandbox»: New dimensions, materials or concepts stimulate my process of working." 
Biography .pdf

works

Landscape

The irony of using sand to paint landscapes translates perfectly to the relationship between the artist and the medium: Playful interaction.
Here, the grains of sand become an obstacle against the fluid paint running down from the top. Like stones and water in a torrent, they draft the convolutions of a landscape - almost on their own.
Portfolio Landscape .pdf

portrait

Working on portraits with Coiffard's "sand and dripping" technique, was the next step of advancement after concluding her landscape series. Who could act as a better model for such a hazardous experiment than herself? Nevertheless, the result was rewarding enough to dare to progress to the next stage: Painting other persons. The Nefarious series was the prerequisite step required before she felt confident enough to paint others.
Portfolio Portrait .pdf

abstract

Using sand as a similar medium like oil or acrylic paint was suggested 20 years ago to CC by observing Jean Dubuffet's artwork. This material radically changed her process of creation and soon led her to abstract geometrical patterns found here and there in an urbanised environment. Later, natural surroundings helped her to break hard edges to become more flexible and gestural which was the beginning of her current "sand and dripping" technique.
Portfolio Abstract .pdf

installation

When it comes to Coiffard, creating an installation starts with the space itself. This means that the installation is not a design for about any room but for that particular one, custom made for its shape, light and purpose. The objects CC creates stem from a similar process: They are answers to external challenges breaking the solitude of her painting activity and stimulating her artistic perception of the situation.
Portfolio Installation .pdf

making of

Cécile Coiffard
Kunstzentrum Tegel-Süd
Neheimer Str. 54-60
13507 Berlin Germany
PHONE + 49 179 11 94 174