For the exhibition web page, click HERE!
The artist and friends...
What are some of the artist's sources of inspiration for this exhibition, entitled "Post Mortem" ("after death")? Here are a few photos and links...
Damien Deroubaix
Damien Deroubaix
Damien Deroubaix
Album cover for a disc by the group Slayer
Damien Deroubaix
Jesus said: "And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it..." (Matthew 16:18)
In Islam, God speaks of seven Gates of Hell in the Quran:"And surely, Hell is the promised place for them all. It has seven gates, for each of these gates is a class of sinners assigned." (Quran 15:43-44). Each gate has an allotted share of the damned who will enter through it. Each will enter according to his deeds and assigned a level of Hell accordingly. When the unbelievers are brought to Hell, its gates will open, they will enter it, and stay in it forever: "And those who disbelieved will be driven to Hell in groups until, when they reach it, its gates are opened and its keepers will say, ‘Did there not come to you messengers from yourselves, reciting to you the verses of your Lord and warning you of the meeting of this Day of yours?’ They will say, ‘Yes, but the word (meaning the decree) of punishment has come into effect upon the disbelievers.’" (Quran 39:71). They will be told after admission: "Enter the gates of Hell to abide eternally therein, and wretched is the residence of the arrogant." (Quran 39:72). The gates will be shut and there will be no hope of escape as God says: "But those who reject Our signs, they are the companions of the left hand. On them will be Fire vaulted over (meaning the gates will be locked)." (Quran 90:19-20)
Ghost train! (Maybe a source of inspiration?!)
Damien Deroubaix
"The Three Ages of Woman" Hans Baldung Grien
Damien Deroubaix
Hi everyone!
ReplyDeleteToday, I saw an amazing exhibition in “Le Creux de l'Enfer” that every art fan should go and visit. I don't know if you know the artist Damien DEROUBAIX, he is from Lille. He studied at the Saint-Etienne art college and also in Germany. He was an average painter, if I can say that, until he saw a full-size reproduction of Picasso’s “Guernica”. He started painting about death and the vision that he has on today's world. He wanted to shock people, to make them react in the way he had reacted when he saw “Guernica”.
This exhibition was so interesting for someone like me and mostly for people who like different types of art. I've found different themes in his work. The first theme, as I already said, the most recurrent one, is death but there is also politics and, to some degree, there is religion. For example, the painting that I like the most is “l'Esprit enotretemps” (sic). In this work, death is symbolized by a head cut off from its body. The ephemerality of life is shown by the bubbles and cut flowers. The artist also denounces the power of money in our society: a dollar note is shown dangling above a monstrous flayed creature. Is the artist a Satanist? No, rather he denounces the evil in the world. The title is well chosen: it could mean both “the spirit of our time” and “the spirit in another time”.
I think that all of you should go to see this exhibition because it makes us think differently. He uses different styles of paintings, plus collages of etchings. Deroubaix makes lots of references to his other paintings. He also includes the narrative of his own life by, for example, copying the album cover of the CD he was listening to whilst painting the work. There are many references to violent world events, most of them recent. He makes references to the works of other artists that he admires or finds relevant to the theme(s).
You should go to see “POST MORTEM” because it is amazing. I hope you'll like this exhibition as much as I did!
Emeline d'ESCRIVAN
“Post Mortem” is an unusual exhibition… I didn’t like the atmosphere (especially as there was no heating upstairs!), but it was still interesting. I think this exhibition is not for everybody because the subject (“post mortem,” which means “after death”) can’t please everybody and can’t be understood by under-15 year olds.
ReplyDeleteDamien Deroubaix is the artist of these paintings in this exhibition. He was born in Lille in 1972. He received his diploma from the “Ecole régionale des Beaux Arts” in Saint-Etienne and then studied at the Fine Arts Academy of Karlsruhe in Germany. The painter develops his sculptural ideas in his painting. He listens to Hard Metal Music when he paints and these songs inspire him in his painting. He paints also when he’s tormented…
The subject of this exhibition is essentially about death. Deroubaix’s art criticizes society and things like religion, politics and money. The artist’s paintings represent hell, with many strange creatures. The seven deadly sins also inspire the artist. There are references to Jerome Bosch and Picasso.
During this exhibition we saw “L’esprit en notre temps”. In this painting, there were many details, like the devil in the middle, and bubbles and flowers which symbolize that everything is ephemeral. At the bottom, the Pazouzou totem (from the Mesopotamian civilisation) is thought to influence health. Pazouzou points to the sky, which symbolises heaven, with his right hand. His left hand points down towards “hell”. Pazouzou is a strong symbol in this painting because it makes us think our life can be influenced by things like this little god.
To conclude, we can say that each person can understand something different through this artist’s painting, with its many symbols. It can make us think about society today. I don’t like it very much, but people should go to this exhibition because it’s interesting especially for people interested in art! I give the exhibition three out of five stars.
Léa Durif
Damien Deroubaix was born in Lille in 1972 in a family of modest means. He did his studies in a college in Saint-Etienne. At first, he painted animals, because he wanted to be a veterinarian. But, during a class with his Arts teacher, he saw a reproduction of Picasso’s “Guernica” and decided to become an artist. He received his diploma from the Ecole Régionale des Beaux Arts in Saint-Etienne and then studied at the Fine Arts Academy of Karlsruke in Germany.
ReplyDeleteThe title of the exhibition is “Post Mortem” which means “After death”. The artist’s paintings represent hell and the seven deadly sins, with many monstrous creatures. It is a reflection on sin inspired by artists like Jerome Bosch or Picasso. His art also criticizes society and religion, politics and greed. In fact, he paints in order to shock people…
The painting which I preferred was “L’esprit de notre temps” because it contains lots of symbols of death, such as surrealist chimera. The “staging” included many details like the devil in the middle, and ephemeral bubbles and flowers. The Mesopotamia totem Pazouzou, which is said to influence your well-being, is also present in this painting. He points, strangely, to heaven with his left hand and to hell with his right. Deroubaix uses striking reds, turquoise blues, golden greens, burning oranges and burned yellows to illuminate his supernatural world.The atmosphere is macabre, nightmarish and violent...
I think young children should not see this exhibition. It is in a former factory in Thiers called “Le Creux de l’Enfer” (i.e. “The Hollow of Hell”). It’s an appropriate name for this exhibition (though it was very chilly in there!).
Margaux COUTURIER
This exhibition (three stars out of five) was very interesting, though I think it can’t please everybody…
ReplyDeleteDamien Deroubaix was born in Lille in 1972 in a family which did not appreciate art that much… But Damien started his work very early and he decided to become an artist when he saw a full-size copy of “Guernica” by Picasso. He did his studies in an art college in Saint-Etienne. Now, Deroubaix is a famous artist.
His art criticizes today’s society which has lost its fundamental values regarding religion, money and politics. His work is influenced by his favorite music: Death Metal. This leads to a very restless form of art!
Every painting made by this artist represents hell, with many strange creatures, and the Devil is of course omnipresent. The artist reflects on the nature of sin and the relation between heaven and hell. Damien is inspired by famous artists like Jerome Bosch.
The painting which most affected me was the huge “L’esprit de notre temps” since the theatrical stage that is depicted has many details. In the middle, we can see a tall black devil and on the side there are bubbles and flowers which symbolizes that everything is ephemeral. On the left, there is a depiction of the Pazouzou Mesopotamian totem which can influence health. The numerous symbols make us think about our society’s ills.
This exhibition was very peculiar and disturbing. The colours are often bright but the ideas evoked are dark, and the message, if any, of the artist is sometimes difficult to understand…
Amélie COURTINE
Damien Deroubaix is a French artist born in Lille in 1972. As a child, he liked to paint animals. His parents were not much interested in art but Damien took Art lessons. As a teenager, he discovered "Guernica" by Picasso. From that day on, he wanted to represent the world and its woes on a grand scale. He studied Art in Saint-Etienne and then in Germany. After ten years in Berlin he returned to France. He now lives and works in Meisenthal. He has had numerous exhibitions of his work.
ReplyDeleteI went to "Le Creux de l'Enfer" in Thiers, an Arts centre set up in 1988, to see Damien Deroubaix's exhibition “Post Mortem”. In the very large painting "Esprit de notre temps," there is a plethora of symbolic elements: skeletons (death?), nudity (the commodification of the human body?), monstrous animals like chimeras (the horrors waiting for us after a life lived badly?), flowers and bubbles (the fleeting nature of life?), dollar banknotes (greed?), the Nazi swastika (political extremes and the horrors of war), religious idols, etc.
Deroubaix expresses his fears about the world as it is today, covered in sin and suffering. He uses contrast to catch the eye and convey his complex message to a (confused) audience: black versus white, deep shadow versus bright colours, kitsch versus the grand style, empty spaces versus a collage of elements, order (the stage set) versus chaos (absence of perspective). Deroubaix likes to listen to Death Metal (like the group Slayer) while he is working; the violence of that comes through in his nightmarish canvas.
This kind of political (and quasi-religious) art is meant to shock. Deroubaix, I feel, succeeds in condemning our moral corruption, or, at least, he makes us aware of the sorry state of the world. I give this exhibition three stars out of five.
Youmi PLANES
The artist Damien De Roubaix was born in Lille in 1972. As a boy, he drew animals because he wanted to become a veterinarian. Later, during an evening class with his Arts teacher, he saw Picasso’s “Guernica”. At that very moment, he decided to become an artist and went on to study the Arts in Saint-Etienne.
ReplyDeleteDe Roubaix paints to shock people. For example “L’esprit enotre temps” contains lots of symbols of death, Surrealist-inspired images of chimera, and symbolic statues. When he paints, he listens to Hard Metal. In his work, he includes images of Al-Qaida (like the head of its leader eaten by a monstrous creature) and Dahesh. He also paints watchtowers and US drones.
I wasn’t really shocked by any of the pictures and I think you won’t be either (if you are over 16!). This exhibition is in Thiers, at “Le Creux de L’Enfer”. The name of the museum is very appropriate for this exhibition!
Antoine COLIN
We are going to talk about "Post Mortem”, the exhibition at the “Creux de l'Enfer” in Thiers by Damien De Roubaix. He was born in Lille in 1972 and studied the Arts in Saint-Etienne. He painted animals as a child because he wanted to become a vet. But, during an evening class with his Arts teacher, he saw Picasso's "Guernica" and was bowled over by the power of this work. Shocking people through art also became the goal of De Roubaix.
ReplyDeleteDe Roubaix's work "l'esprit(d)enotretemps" contains a lot of symbols. For example: thistles that represent austerity which refers to Christ's crown of thorns, bubbles and flowers which represent the ephemerality of existence. There are lots of chimeras like a ram with a woman’s body (the ram is the attribute of the Devil). The work shows a theatre stage; there is a “stage left” with trees and flowers and a “stage right”.
I like Damien De Roubaix's art because, like I said, there are lots of symbols, and having to decipher each element of his work is captivating. Also, this work is interesting because you can find elements again in his different paintings so there is a coherence in his work.
I think if you are not given an explanation of De Roubaix's work beforehand, his work is difficult to understand.
Manon BOYER
This exhibition is a “killer” for Death/Dark/Trash Metal and horror fans!
ReplyDeleteThe painter Damien De Roubaix is a 44-year old artist that paints the horrors of society. He is inspired by Metal and Grindcore; often, he listens to Slayer. This is easily recognisable in his work where there is horror and death all over the place. Often, he depicts beasts or people with the head of Behemoth. He even inserts parts of Metal album covers and lyrics in his paintings. His art is meant to shock and does a great job of it!
I really liked this exhibition in “Le Creux de l’Enfer” in Thiers because it really shows what happens in a messed up mind in a messed up world. It is full of horrors but it calmed me because in some way the paintings of hate, anger and violence have a cathartic effect.
Just so you guys get a clearer idea I will describe the painting ''l'esprit de notre temps''. This painting is quite dark. You have on the left the inside of a house and on the right a forest. The scene happens at night. In the house there are creatures coming out of hell trough the ground. We can recognize Behemoth who is the central figure. There is a link between life and death: there are horrors everywhere but plants grow in the middle of it all. There are even flowers growing out of a severed decomposing head. It really feels like the hellish creatures are coming to our world…
I highly recommend you going to see “Post Mortem”!
Willem KAUFELD
Damien Deroubaix was born in Lille. The artist received his diploma from the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Saint-Etienne and then studied at the Fine Arts Academy in Karlsruhe, Germany. He is 44 years old and still not very well known…
ReplyDeleteI’d give just one star out of five for this “messy” exhibition. If you go, you are wasting your time because it’s really not interesting and definitely not recommended for children.
The theme is too obvious: death! Every artist paints about death, so you must at least try to be original in your approach to treating the theme (like Stéphane Mallarmé), which is not De Roubaix’s case.
“Esprit de notre temps” is a dark painting. If you like chaos, it is great, but for me, there is just too much information to take in. The artist includes things like the picture of a ram from a Dark Metal album cover, a Mesopotamian statue, the devil under several guises, and flowers, bubbles, etc. The only part I did not dislike was the forest because the style is simple. Why would an artist with such talent paint something so sad and boring?
Go see this exhibition if you have really nothing better to do!
Clotilde AUCLAIR