Meeting creative souls who live and work in the Drôme and talking about their art is what I had in mind when I decided to write the present blog post. My hopes have been amply rewarded. Our region is an artistic and intellectual treasure trove but in my view this is insufficiently highlighted. In barely a year’s time I have been fortunate in interviewing no less than 15 artists. In a number of cases I have had to search them out for they often tend to avoid publicizing their work.  A measure of reluctance to put herself to the fore applies to the artist I wish to discuss today. When I went to see her at her home it was immediately evident that she was intent on following a personal path with relatively little desire to exhibit or to make a name for herself. Over the past months I have gradually come to consider myself as a collector of creative talents in my surroundings, and Renate de Caluwe fits perfectly into that picture. She is a genuine personality whose main aim is to make life-fulfilling art in a world of her own in which emotions go beyond words. She is a rare specimen indeed and I am fortunate to have “captured” and added her to my collection!

I have known Renate for a number of years. Reflecting on the proper way to introduce her and as she favours expressing  herself in writing, we decided on an epistolary exchange rather than a questionnaire. In this way Renate can answer my letter (see below) freely and at length without being interrupted by having to give answers to specific questions.

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Souspierre,  August 2019

My Dear Renate,

You have kindly agreed to tell me how and why you became an artist. We are friends and I have had ample occasions to see and admire your work. I also know that you started to make art late in life and I have often asked myself how is it possible, with so little formal training and experience that your sculptures and paintings attain such a high degree of perfection. When we talked about it you admitted to being a perfectionist in life and that you were not easily satisfied with the results obtained when making works of art. The reason could be that to create a work of art requires a mainly internalized approach which is often more demanding than to be motivated from the outside. I also gathered you didn’t feel a real need to show what you make and that you are just as happy to keep your work to yourself and to share it with a few close friends.  There are many explanations as to why people become artists. In fact, there are probably as many explanations as there are artists! A motivation that appealed to me and could, I imagine easily apply to you, I recently came across in a biography of the famous English painter, Francis Bacon. Paradoxically, his paintings represent the dark side of human nature and are quite the contrary of yours. I was therefore surprised to read that he had stated: “All artists are lovers, they are lovers of life, they want to see how they can live it more intensely, not to say how clever I am but can I trap this wonderful and transient thing.” That’s a rather nice utterance coming from someone who paints pretty nihilist paintings! I imagine you will be in complete agreement with him and that it might also explain why you go on and on making beautiful sculptures and paintings on canvas, paper and even on river stones? I am curious to know when, where and why it all began as well as what art means for you, and possibly what it adds to your life.

I very much look forward to reading your answer,

Laurent

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Dieulefit,  August 2019

Dear Laurent,

I won’t dwell too long on my path in life except perhaps to call attention to some aspects I share with many other individuals who have chosen to express themselves artistically. Art in itself is a very natural means of expression and it can also lead to a better understanding of many things that tend to complicate our lives. That is what happened to me. I used to make life difficult for myself before letting my hand take over from my mind and decide what it was it wanted to express. I then realised how much I had yearned to give shape to my inner aspirations. However, it did take me a long, long time before I managed to do so. I will try to tell you how as simply as possible.

It all began in 2000, the year that marked the passage of one era to another, when I decided to leave Paris and move to Montélimar. I was feeling extremely happy to have reached the age of retirement. My professional activities had not prepared me to take up sculpting, painting or any other form of art. On the other hand I was good at manual work and for a number of years I had even been involved in the manufacture of musical instruments: harpsichords, guitars and lutes. I am by nature an introspective person, one who hopes to uncover the hidden part of her inner self. That could explain why I always strive to achieve perfection, which is of course something quite obviously unattainable; it also impairs creative activities.

I cannot describe the developments of my recent past without first mentioning the impact my family has had on me. Without entering into details, there was a grandfather who played the trumpet, a grandmother who was a well known opera singer and a harpist, my mother was a pianist and my father played the violin. Other members of the family were also talented artists and they all sought to express themselves through their art. I have inherited none of their aptitudes, except perhaps for having a good voice. On the other hand I was fortunate to have a loving and caring mother who contributed in fostering my interest for all forms of art, and music in particular.

As I write these lines I realise there is an aspect I was unaware of, and that is my love of harmony in all its forms. Harmony is central in my life and I am tireless in trying to achieve it.  It demands a lot of hard work and I must admit that in the long run it has become a kind of obsession.

The turning point that triggered the irrepressible desire to express myself as an artist took place in 2003. Perhaps I should qualify this desire as a deep-seated need to give concrete form to my feelings and consequently to open my mind to a whole new world. Friends had invited me to make use of a free plane ticket they had obtained and accompany them to an ashram in India. When I came back from the journey something unexpected and strange occurred: a compelling urge to sculpt in stone! For the next two years I worked consistently and daily in the studio of a sculptor in Montélimar until I had reached the firm conviction that I could go ahead and practise art as a fully fledged sculptor.

What was it I wanted to sculpt? I quickly realised that in my mind I wanted to create “beings,” “beings” that came from elsewhere! They were all different but they were also related as though they belonged to the same family. As they were embedded in stone it was up to me to carve them out. This is how I imagined things and it impressed me because I was also aware that it all went beyond my understanding. At the same time I felt I could trust my hand instead of my mind to do the job. Interestingly, while my hand was not busy carving stone it proceeded to trace extremely precise and detailed drawings on paper, conjuring up strange “little worlds.”

There again, as with my sculptures, these drawings were strange and potent, part animal, part human “beings” that unexpectedly came alive. Whether they were sculptures or drawings they all seemed to derive from the same other-world. I admit being struck by the intensity they irradiated as though it was not me but my hand that had acted independently. I made them with Rotring pens and black ink. Always black ink! It would have been quite impossible for me to use colour. Every time I tried I would come up against a block that sometimes drew tears to my eyes, and I failed to understand why this was. It is not easy for me to explain what moved me to examine my soul by making these drawings. They brought about an extreme form of concentration and for hours and hours I would remain bent over my drawing table attempting to trace the “perfect” line without a single crossing out, nor ever lifting my hand from the paper. Needless to say this accentuated my taste for solitude and meditation as all the while I reflected on how I could break away from the circle that locked me up.

In 2010 I was obliged to give up sculpture because of serious health problems that had physically weakened me considerably. It was a period of forced inactivity that lasted for two years which was while I was recovering from serious heart surgery.  I even stopped drawing as I was drained of every form of artistic expression, to such an extent that after the two years had passed I had to learn how to draw all over again, like a child. You know? Two small circles for the eyes and a half-moon line for the mouth. It felt like being a 3 year old child. Little by little I regained my self-confidence and my hand began to come alive again. This time however there was colour and it progressively imposed itself. No more Rotring drawings, painting was taking over. In 2012 I decided to move and settle in the wonderful village of Dieulefit.

It was only after I had reached a certain age that I accepted the idea of becoming a painter, in other words of using colour. In the first instance my compulsion to achieve perfection led me to paint what I termed my “chinoiseries.” I loved making them for they met my ever persistent taste for detail. The concentration required in order to paint in this manner allowed me to distance myself from my tendency to question things, to question practically everything and in particular how to give meaning to life. Painting, reading and my daily walks in the beautiful natural surroundings of Dieulefit brought me into a bubble of well being.

It is only in 2018 that I suddenly decided to change the course of my usual precise and detailed artistic manner and take the risk of letting my hand express itself freely in line and colour. Looking back I believe that art and the way I practise it have contributed in helping me to find a form of inner peace and calm.

Oh, and I forgot to mention that I also make etchings and I love painting on river stones. You also asked me to tell you who my favourite artists were. There are quite a few of course but with regard to painting it would be Chagall for his colours, and for their sculptures, Brancusi and Zadkine.

Well there it is. I do hope that I have adequately provided you with answers to your questions.

All the very best,

Renate

*Antoni Tapies