Uncontrolled Emotions: Solo Show of Works by Paul Flickinger in Tsereteli Art Gallery

Organized by the Russian Academy of Arts in partnership with the Russian Embassy in France and under the auspices of the President of the General Council of the Department of Moselle (Lorraine, France) Mr. Patrick Weiten, the solo show in Tsereteli Art Gallery features works by the renowned French painter and sculptor Paul Flickinger. On display are over 100 paintings, sculptures and totems produced by Paul Flickinger for thirty years of his creative work.

Paul Flickinger was born in Colmar in Haut-Rhin in France in 1941, now he lives and works in Lorraine Region in Marly. Some call him a native of Alsace, others – an adopted son of Lorraine and a citizen of the world by his temperament. Having received a classical art education he started working as an art-director for one of the newspapers.

In 1974 Paul Flickinger was one of the twelve painters and sculptors who founded the group Art Research. Since 1982 he has been an active exhibitor in many international modern art shows in New-York, Dallas, Basel, Paris, Strasbourg, Hamburg, Nice, Luxembourg, Berlin and other cities. Among his works of major interest are: the invitation of Pierre Cardin: 2 x 3m canvas created by Paul Flickinger in 1992 for the presentation ceremony of Enigme perfume in Espace Pierre Cardin Paris; 26 images for the TGV East collection; monumental sculpture 5.10 m tall symbolizing Europe of peace; “Marianne” monumental composition in Marly.

Paul Flickinger started his career as a painter and later made himself known as a sculptor. Influenced by works of Pablo Picasso, Max Ernest, Juan Miro, Gaston Chaissac, Jean Dubuffet and surrealist artists, Paul Flickinger creates canvases distinguished by the master’s refined technique and perfect skill. These are complex compositions full of narrative details, fantastic characters and creatures. Quite often he derives his inspiration in the legends of the past, current events glorifying the future and framing it with fantastic visions and dreams.

His sculptural works are more close to instinctive art. In his searches of an artistic image Paul Flickinger often resorts to combinations of various fragments of wood or uses the traditional method – modeling and casting. Regardless of an object of his inspiration Flickinger as an artist gives the viewer a freedom of interpretation which due to his traditional narrative technique makes the unreal recognizable.

Paul Flickinger’s work is spectacular and diverse. According to researches of his art, it is not simply work of a multisided artist and master who is equally successful in various types and genres of fine arts, the most important is his attitude to the substance and spirit. Paul Flickinger shows his convincing ability to work with metal and wood, to combine different materials, to use various pictorial techniques thus executing a wide range of color tasks.

In 2010 Paul Flickinger was elected an Honorary Member of the Russian Academy of Arts for his lifetime achievements in fine arts.




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