Jean LETOURNEUR (1954) - Lot 184

Jean LETOURNEUR (1954) Paraclete 1998 Ultra High Definition digital print on art paper, E. A. I / IV, 2001 Signed (lower right) : LETOURNEUR 107 x 187 cm Paraclet is part of the Méharées series (see cat. nos. 186 and 189). In this body of work, the artist seeks to convey the emotions and spiritual journey revealed to those who undertake a méharée, a camel-riding journey through the desert. The spirituality of Paraclet is underlined by its title, a word of Greek origin meaning "the one who is called to help". To bring us this hypnotic image, where the sun's zenithal light spreads over the wind-wrinkled sand, Jean Letourneur went through a complex, multi-stage process. First, he chose to mold certain areas of water-modeled sand on a beach. Then, he reworked his casts by adding or removing material and arranging them in a large tripartite composition. The result is a triptych, a stucco relief measuring 141 x 260 cm (see Phréatique langage et création, n°88, 1999, p. 88-89). Finally, he photographed his work and colorized his photograph to restore the vision that inhabited it. Jean Letourneur has taken the transformation of sand by water and given it the impression of a transformation of sand by wind: his work shows that hydrodynamics and aerodynamics obey the same laws. Bibliography: - Jean Letourneur, "Paraclet", Phréatique langage et création, n°88, 1999, p. 88-89, repr. - Michael Gibson, Nature Art Today II, Patou Editions, 2014, p.181, repr. - 2018 LETOURNEUR, p. 124, repr.