Etienne Mottez or How to translate life into Art
‘’The story never ends, I come back and I continue thestory. Even if it’s another story. In my workshop.”





‘’The story never ends, I come back and I continue the story. Even if it’s another story. In my workshop.”
Every painting is the beginning of the story and most of the time some endless endings of a story. Of his children’s stories, paths and events.
Imposing character, imposing presence, imposing dress code –interesting to highlight. Red pants and blue shirt – interestingly or coincidentally matching with his paintings.
We listen to the story and on the opposite of what the character shows, the common artistic thread decomposes a fragile – yet tenacious inspirations and messages.
Jean-Michel Basquiat style caught us at a glimpse –initially– until we immerged deeper into each painting. And noticed particular interesting objects, words, life’s phases. But even more.
Every painting of Etienne Mottez accompanies the life of an important person. His children. And even his own. All through time. All through phases. Following them by painting them. Translating life into Art.
Telling his own story through his paintings. Another communication tool. Powerful through colors, lively and striking ones. But striking would be the characters’ facial expressions that might pop out in some of the paintings. Saddened, insightful or intrigued might it be. So you continue again and again to understand and decompose the story of this interesting personage. Translating life into Art. Through all its phases.
So you get caught. Caught in your moment. In your past life moments. In your memories. He strikes you and catches you. You get hit by the big impactful paintings occupying the space, telling a lot about a past, screaming some difficult life’s events and dancing lively through popping red, pink and yellow joyful colors. And you dance with it in your thoughts, in your feelings. Suddenly you get hit by some bitter sweet memories you kept on the side since a while now that get back to the surface while breaking down the frighten look of Etienne’s robot character in a very dark painting.
And he succeeds to impact you through his Art. This is when a painting gets personal with his audience. Just like a movie with its audience. Just like a teacher with his students. Just like a music with its listeners. Just like life gets to you!
When Art gets personal. Or how to Translate life into Art.
- date publishedNovember 15, 2021
- categoryFindings
- original sourceWhat’s On Design↗