The Critic's
Eye
"Clément Mancini's work echoes this modernist conception of the work which considers the space of painting as an uninterrupted plastic surface that we look at as such and not through it. From there is created the effect of a 'pure visuality', of a complete pictorial whole which has nothing else to hide than what it offers, almost served on a plate."
— Elora Weill-Engerer, art critic
Greatest inspirations
and influences
I like the work of many artists and it is always difficult to select just a few. But I would say that the Abstract Expressionists of the New York School — Joan Mitchell, Helen Frankenthaler, Clyfford Still — are my favourites. The Supports/Surfaces and COBRA movements are also very interesting to me.
I also like to observe around me when I walk down the street. I think it comes from my practice of graffiti when I was younger. This taught me to observe the city and its different surfaces.
It is those traces of time that inspire me the most — when the paint crackles, the iron curtains are rusting, and posters are torn apart. It feeds my repertoire of textures, colours, and involuntary compositions.
The creative
process
There are no preparatory sketches. I prioritise spontaneity and choose to face the blank support. What interests me in this approach is not knowing where I take my canvas — the freedom of the unknown. My reflections are done directly on the final support.
I like to start on canvas and let myself be guided by spontaneity. The gesture, impulsive, causes errors, erasures, recoveries. All those steps will constitute my final pieces.
The process itself is quite physical. I use raw cotton canvas that absorbs the plaster when I spread it — so I need a rather liquid plaster that I pour onto the canvas laid on the ground, then use a spatula to lay out the material. I really appreciate this step — it requires letting yourself go and induces a very physical relationship with the support.
When the plaster is dry, the work of colour begins. I apply the first layer with a spatula and intentionally let random surfaces of plaster and canvas appear. This defines the base of my composition.
