Photo A. Mole. Courtesy Semiose, Paris.

Hugo Capron

Dolphin Derby

June 25 — August 13

I don't believe that Hugo Capron feels the slightest affection for the “subjects” of his paintings. He has nothing in common with the fireworks, shrimps or lemon trees, nor with the more recent rivers. Fortunately, his painting is not a statement about the world—no more than it is about the artist himself. His painting is not autobiographical. Moreover, these things are not really subjects as such, they are more like motifs. His “motifs” are not chosen lightly, but rather because of what they allow and the vocabulary they permit him to use.

Photo A. Mole. Courtesy Semiose, Paris.

Capron does not imbue them with any humanity and no moral questions are asked. Like the fireworks and the rivers, the shrimp motif takes on the role of intercessor, of a gateway that invites the spectator into the painting; it undoubtedly reassures the viewer and softens the brutal truth: the only subject of these canvases is the painting itself.

Photo A. Mole. Courtesy Semiose, Paris.

Photo A. Mole. Courtesy Semiose, Paris.

“His painting simply puts its trust in me to understand, as it does itself, the pure and simple language of painting, and to use this language together in our discussion. Thus qualified, we are ready to begin appreciating the painting: whether it depicts shrimps or rivers, it doesn't really matter. What stands out, is an approach to painting, the ambition to “create a canvas” and the frankly absurd yet essential intention of participating in the history of painting, without trying to change the rules of the game.”

- Text by Eric Troncy

Photo A. Mole. Courtesy Semiose, Paris.

Biography

With a background in printing, Hugo Capron's painting is based on the pleasure of reproducing the same image in long series that seek to exhaust all the possibilities of variation. His paintings are generally produced in one go and without repentance, but are nevertheless based on precise technical equations. Long interested in the correspondences between a volume of paint and a surface of canvas to be covered, his return from the Kujoyama Villa in 2019 led to a breaking point. His works began to represent subjects that were often classical and anonymous, borrowed from the history of etching or the history of painting.

Hugo Capron’s palettes are the result of fine investigations among suppliers from all over the world in search of the most accurate shades. On the canvas, they reveal themselves in a whole range of materials, juices and luminous extra thickness which emphasise the speed of execution. The gesture is almost calligraphic, it is a mixture of commas and loops.

Hugo Capron (b. 1989) lives and works in Dijon (FR). He graduated from the Ecole Nationale Supérieure d'Art et de Design, Dijon (FR). In 2021, he is the winner of the 8th edition of the Emerige Revelation Grant. His work has been exhibited in numerous individual and collective shows at the Hôtel des Arts, Toulon (FR), the Centre Régional d’Art Contemporain de Montbéliard (FR), the Collection Yvon Lambert, Avignon (FR), the Frac Bourgogne, Dijon (FR) and at Consortium, Dijon (FR). His work features in a large number of French and international, public and private collections.

Portrait by Renaud Monfourny