About the work
A Conversation on Art, Mathematics and the Hidden Aesthetics of the World.
- Your work is inspired by fractals and natural symmetries, but we can also see a deep connection with mathematics. What role do they play in your artistic approach?
- Mathematics is omnipresent in my work, but in an intuitive way. What fascinates me, as I told you, is this underlying order that we find in nature, architecture and even in biological structures. Fractals are a perfect example of what I call underground mathematics: a hidden language that governs the world, which we perceive without necessarily being aware of it.
- Can you give us concrete examples of this mathematical presence in your works?
- Let's take the Fibonacci sequence and the golden ratio. These proportions are everywhere in nature: the arrangement of the petals of a flower, the spiral of a shell, the structure of galaxies... When I compose a fractal work, these patterns reappear almost naturally. It is not a conscious calculation, but a resonance with a universal order.
In my works we also find the principle of squaring the circle, an ancient mathematical and philosophical problem. Jung himself saw in this form a representation of psychic balance. My compositions often play on this tension between the square and the circle.
- This play between symmetry and repetition could have an effect that is too mechanical or monotonous, but it is not the case. And as I was pointing out to you, it speaks to a wide audience and the first words that come to mind are that it is simply... "Beautiful"!
- Yes, just as I like to confront my paintings with nature to see if it has the "weight", it reassures me about the value of my work that it pleases the greatest number. For the record, when I started to have them printed, my little nephews and niece were present at the reception and I remember the craze they had: "How beautiful it is, uncle!" they exclaimed at each painting.
- I would say curiously beautiful! Why? You told me that it had raised questions for you and that you had partly found the answer in Jung.
- Yes, I didn't say to myself: "You are the greatest genius at the beginning of this century!" (Smile) but why did this organization around the center and these repetitions have such an effect? It's that there is an obviousness in these compositions, a balance that speaks directly to our sensitivity.
- You mentioned the concept of psychological quaternity. Could you tell me a little more about it...
- Yes, Jung developed the idea that there were four functions of consciousness: Thought, which analyzes and organizes. Sensation, which captures the concrete. Feeling, which judges and evaluates. Intuition, which perceives global patterns.
- But still...
- Now, my fractal works are precisely addressed to these four dimensions: They relate to Thought, through their rigorous geometric construction. They touch Sensation, through their hypnotic effect on the gaze. They evoke Feeling, through their colorful harmony. And they stimulate Intuition, because they recall the hidden order of nature.
- In this sense, your paintings are not only aesthetic objects. Most of them give off a depth because they are in direct contact with the unconscious.
- Quite.
- I would like us to also address the projective side that we certain...
- Yes, that's what I call their "Rorschach side"!
- Yes, let's remember that this psychological test was created from ink stains obtained by folding a sheet in two. Which gives a bizarre result revealing shapes where the imagination can project itself.
- Yes, it should be noted that in relation to my paintings the Swiss psychoanalyst played on axial symmetry while I work on radial symmetry.
- But the "figures" that we see appearing also come from axial symmetry!
- Yes, very well seen! Finally, what is funny is that everyone often sees different things.
- Hence their projective side...
- Quite !
- This mathematical influence is also felt in your work on architecture, notably your paintings inspired by Burgundian heritage.
- Absolutely. Gothic architecture, for example, is based on precise geometry. Cathedrals are not just assembled stone, they are structures organized around mathematical proportions and harmonious symmetries. By reinterpreting these elements in my digital works, I try to make visible this hidden intelligence that spans the centuries.
- Your works could almost be seen as an artistic visualization of chaos theory. Well, some of them…
- Exactly! Chaos theory shows that behind an apparent complexity, there are recurring patterns, organized structures. This is what I try to explore in my creations. My fractals are not only beautiful shapes: they are the echo of a universal order that surpasses us, but connects us all.
- Ultimately, your art is an invitation to see the world differently…
- Yes… and to understand that beauty is not just a question of subjectivity. There are shapes and proportions that speak directly to our unconscious, because they are inscribed in the very structure of life. As Jung said: “In every man lie eternal forms that, if awakened, come to life and manifest themselves in art, dreams and visions.” This is exactly what I seek to do with my works: awaken these hidden shapes and invite everyone to a deeper contemplation of the world around them.
- Your work explores symmetry, fractals and the relationship between art and nature. You are part of an approach that evokes both Carl Gustav Jung and René Huyghe. What do you remember from their reflections?
- Both have deeply nourished my artistic vision. Jung, of course, with his notion of the collective unconscious and quaternity, which joins my fascination for symmetrical and centered structures. But René Huyghe was just as essential. In Dialogue with the Visible , he explains how art is not only a human creation, but a revelation of the fundamental structures of the world. He shows that man only amplifies what nature already puts in place: forms organized according to recurring principles, which obey a logic that is both biological and mathematical.
- So there is a natural order that art only reveals?
- Exactly. Take fractals: they exist everywhere, in ice crystals, galaxies, corals… Nature does not produce its shapes randomly. It follows precise laws, which are found in biology as well as in architecture or painting. Huyghe spoke of a “universal language of the visible” that the artist must know how to capture. This is what I try to do: reveal this underlying harmony through my works.
- Huyghe also insisted on the psychological impact of shapes and colors. Do you think your works resonate with the viewer at this level?
- Yes, and this is where my work also joins Jung. Certain forms, certain geometric structures touch us immediately, because they are anchored in us, almost instinctively. Symmetry, the balance between movement and stability, the repetition of patterns… all this creates an emotional reaction. Huyghe explained that art is a mediation between reality and our perception. It allows us to feel the order of the world, not by reason alone, but by aesthetic experience.
- To summarize and as a conclusion: Your art is therefore situated on the border between science, nature and intuition…
- Absolutely. It is not simply an aesthetic research, but an attempt to connect different fields of knowledge. The underground mathematics that structure my works are not there by chance: they translate a profound reality. As René Huyghe said:
“Art is a way of capturing the invisible forces that structure the visible.”
This sums up the quest that drives me: to explore these forces, make them visible and invite the viewer to experience them through aesthetic contemplation.
Interview conducted by Jean Leclair in March 2024