Fournez

Brice Guilbert grew up in Saint-Joseph, on the French Indian Ocean island of La Réunion, at the foot of the Piton de la Fournaise volcano. The Fournez series is the result of years of repeated work on the very same motif: the eruption of this volcano. Using only one proportion and five different canvas sizes, Guilbert’s gaze focuses on repetition and composition bordering on abstraction, with an ineffable subconscious undertone and a strong rhythmic interest. All the works are painted on paper or wood using oil sticks made with the artist’s own artisanal mixture of oil paint and natural beeswax. This book brings together a selection of one hundred works produced between 2016 and 2023, as well as ten songs written and composed by the artist in Kréyol Rényoné (Reunionese Creole).