INVITATION – Exhibition Anke De Vries / Laurent Félix-Faure

“THE MYSTERY OF ART, LIKE LOVE, SPRINGS FROM A SOURCE UNKNOWN”

This blog is about US. Not about the United States but about Anke de Vries and me, Laurent Félix-Faure. Why? Simply because we will be holding an exhibition together at the Craft Gallery in Dieulefit from Saturday 5^th September to October 15^th, and we hope that as many readers of this blog as possible will be able to come and visit us. The exhibition is a special one as it marks our decision twenty years ago to settle in la Drôme for good and more importantly perhaps how making art has become one of the joys of living here. For, living in la Drôme has been living in dreamland and since we arrived it has been a source of inspiration for Anke to develop an impressive body of beautiful collages and for me, Laurent, an incentive to express my love of the place by painting figurative watercolours of the surroundings and putting my feelings in abstract oils.

Not so long ago a friend asked me whether making art had played a role in our relationship as a couple, suggesting that it might explain why it has been a long and happy one. I had never stopped to consider things from this angle. To be sure Anke and I spent much time looking at art together and meeting many artists, some of whom became long-time friends. Our bookcases are stacked full of art books and the considerable number of paintings by various painters we enjoy and that inspire us hang on the walls of our home. One might well wonder if our enthusiasm has contributed to the pleasure we have of being together – which we have been for many, many years. Of course, there are a host of other reasons but sharing the same interest, exchanging thoughts and impressions about the works we come across and about those who make them undeniably has a strong bonding effect.

After she left school Anke would have liked to go to art school. I am afraid I was partly responsible for having thwarted her wish. She was 17 years old and I was 18. Three years later we married, we went abroad and we had three children. Anke went on to become a successful writer of books for children and young adults. However, the desire to create things with her hands persisted and she took up making and exhibiting collages, notably three times lately at the Craft Gallery. As for me I was always drawn to art and during my professional work for an international federation I visited many countries and I always took a sketchbook and a watercolour pad along with me. I also followed courses at the Royal Academy for Fine Arts in The Hague where I was stationed. After my retirement, with more time on my hands, I wrote some books about art and I painted and exhibited regularly.

Coming back to how our involvement in art affects our relationship, interestingly, what we make and our approach are diametrically opposed. Anke’s collages are perfectly original, which might not have been the case if she had attended art school. Nobody taught her how to go about making them and she is not directly influenced by other collage artists. They are born in her mind and result in subtle, well-balanced and highly aesthetic compositions. My paintings are more down to earth and inspired by what I see around me. They are definitely influenced by the work of painters I admire but the need to paint comes from an inner drive that make my paintings my own.

Although our art is different, when put side by side what we make harmonises, like our personalities. In answer therefore to my friend’s question above, the conclusion can perhaps be drawn that complementarity can favour a good and long-standing relationship. Who knows?

Anke joins me in inviting you to come and see for yourselves. We would both look forward to greeting you.

Craft Gallery (50, Rue du Bourg, Dieulefit) opening hours : Tuesday – Sunday, 10h30-12h30 and 15h30-19h00. We, Anke and Laurent, will be present Saturday and Sunday afternoon.