Bertrand Flachot | France
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untitled, 1990's (late)
The mixed media drawing reflects a small apple tree in life-size. Flachot started out with the outline of the drawing and then applied a transparent layer of glue over the entire surface. This procedure may have been repeated several times. The benefit of this technique is that it affords the drawing an unusual dimensionality, making the subject almost tangible. Very fine vertical lines run down the surface of the artwork, like a dewy curtain of rain; creating a mysterious damp atmosphere. The leaves have been painted sensitively, some have a sculptural quality and others disappear into the darkness of the backdrop. One could say that the tree seems to grow out of the background and finds itself starting to emanate light.
Here, as in the case of Eugène Brands’ apple tree (also in the collection), the setting and rendering of the tree could suggest a metaphor of the mystical Tree of Life.