PROFILES

There is a widespread illusion that time flies, but the works of Jean-Philippe Roubaud conjure another temporal vision. His trompe-l’œil drawings make us do a double-take, stop, freeze the image. “I never draw with a magnifying glass”, explains the artist, “because what counts here is what the eye can seize”. Born in Cannes, now a resident of Cannet, Roubaud studied at Villa Arson and now teaches at Villa Thiole. Taking time to observe memory-filled objects, in a nearly surgical approach to guarantee the necessary distance, and using them to more widely examine the conceptual forces of art: these are present-day concerns that Roubaud approaches with great sobriety through drawing. Drawing is increasingly popular; the word is used so often that its meaning is now somewhat vague. But Roubaud has returned to the essentials: black and white, and his sheet of paper. He works with grey pencil and a brush to apply wet graphite powder in a wash. Such works have become his signature as a solo artist, after ten years of painting in a duo with Cynthia Lemesle. Hyperrealism and illusionism When, where and how do we make drawing visible? Drawing often equals sketching: a first step before beginning to paint. But is it not also an artistic medium in itself? During the first lock-down, the artist spent four weeks drawing a bouquet with references to still-lifes by Flemish and Dutch painters in the baroque period. Drawing is often a first step in architecture as well: Roubaud has drawn barricades on 9-metre long ribbons of paper, linking graffiti and urban art. On the Barricades, the artist recalls this slogan from May 1968: “Art is dead, don’t consume its corpse”. Roubaud’s work definitely adheres to a programme: it uses other visual arts as a prism through which to examine drawing as an alpha and an omega. While the artist’s works are clearly filled with virtuosity, they are never more than a source from which to draw conclusions on this essential point.

Par Tanja Stojanov – Photo Jean-Michel Sordello