Collection: Michel Testard

MICHEL TESTARD
Nomadic painter

Michel Testard's artistic research is that of a nomadic painter with varied and profound cultural experiences. Born in Tokyo in a family with an artistic tradition, Michel Testard spent his childhood between Japan, Vietnam and France, developing at a very young age a fascination for travel and the Orient in his childhood sketches. His vagabond education expressed itself very early in the practice of drawing and painting, later perfected at the École des Ateliers de la Ville de Paris.

His landscapes are inspired by his many travels to India, Iceland, Antarctica and beyond. The people of India are at the heart of his work. Village scenes, peasants in the fields, artisans and street vendors, shanty towns, religious buildings are often described in an atmosphere of almost meditative serenity. His Indian scenes, rich in bright colours and mythical elements, mix reality and fantasy. In contrast, his Icelandic landscapes offer a more sober palette, evoking the wild beauty of the Nordic vastness.

Goa, a place of long cultural hybridization between Portugal and India, holds a special place in his work. His Rooms with a View describe the dream of the outside felt from the inside, as a metaphor for our dreams during the Covid pandemic. The Indian jungle is also another source of inspiration, captured with imagination and fantasy, with some references to Kipling or Manet.

Inspired by his own practice of the sitar, Michel Testard has created a series of works dedicated to the sitar and Indian classical music. Humor and fantasy also occupy a place in his work. His representations of maharajas, gurus or yogis, full of colorful fantasy, invite the spectators to contemplate the incredible social heritage of India with a light-hearted gaze.

Michel Testard's influences reflect a certain range of modern art, from the exotic subjects of Gauguin or Le Douanier Rousseau to the urban solitude of Hopper, from the rooms with a view of Matisse to the romantic landscapes of Friedrich. His work integrates these influences into a very personal style, enriched by the cultural diversity of India.

Michel Testard's originality lies in a search for hybridization between East and West, reality and fantasy, past and present. His work reflects a life dedicated to exploring the beauty of the world, under a thoughtful and benevolent gaze.