CORINNE DEVILLE

From June 16 to August 29, Corinne Deville’s work is exhibited at the Palais du Tau in Reims.

A long red Artesian basset hound, a black orchestra playing with the colours of Matisse’s Jazz, a long red path winding upwards from the bottom to the top of the page interwoven with numerous animals as in the traditional Swiss Poyas, (transhumance), figures as dark as shadows attempting to get away from bombs and blood spray…

You are now entering the world of the artist Corinne Deville, large drawings in coloured pencil, felt-tip pens and gouache. First the frame. The page as creative space to which she lays entire claim and then without a filter, proceeds to reveal all.

Next comes the compendium of beasts. As in a medieval tapestry, animals are layered over humans where they fly, swim, run, with expressive faces, sometimes smiling. And finally, there are the colours. Corinne Deville relies on the power of primary colours, a fact that must go back to childhood. Each drawing tugs at our gaze.

We must take the time to step into each image, let the eye wander, enjoy and be moved by the abundance of details. Here, anything is possible, even the sight of Adam and Eve, black bodies adorned with doves, running through a paradise of animals with pearl necklaces, candles, Swiss crosses. A race? A getaway? A dizzying journey towards the end of Eden and the cliff edge of the human condition?

Outsider art, naive art? What if, in fact, we are at the very heart of the artistic impulse? Corinne Deville reveals herself, a woman baring all before us, standing tall or stooped by the passage of a lifetime.

Born in the Ardennes, Corinne Deville has lived in Charleville, Reims, Paris and Switzerland. Powerful and poetic letters bear witness to the undying love she shared with Jean Taittinger. Perhaps what differentiates her from traditional painters is that she never wanted to exhibit. She pursued her work alone, as an unquenchable need, far from the voracious eye of the art market. While she died in April 2021, her children wanted this retrospective. They have thrown open the cases and boxes to present us with this hidden and fascinating panoply. A slow, cheerful and thought-provoking visit to reflect on the question of what Art is.