I'M AFRAID IT MAY BE ART

(This is the title of a painting by Jean-François Octave, which he brought from New York last year).

This Belgian artist is fascinated by myths: he admires them, fears them, and plays with them simultaneously. He draws inspiration from art history: Picasso, for example, but also from prehistoric and Cycladic art. He admires New York's graffiti artists and continues his journey through the Italian Renaissance.

He wants to blend everything together in an impossible project—a final melancholy, nostalgia for striking beauty...

IS ART A STRATEGY? IS ART A TRAGEDY?

(This is the title of another painting by Octave).

In Octave's world, gilded by dreams and languages, which he wishes to break through with the aim of conveying the weighty message of the colossal project: Art. He uses words, images, and ghostly beings to create a fusion of emotion and humor.

His healthy irony helps to underline the chaos and clear away the verbose and emptiness of an outdated, mythical, and wearisome culture, supporting a dream of past grandeur and lifeless visions.

Jean-François Octave's paintings are not gentle: they allow neither peaceful dreams nor wings (sometimes accompanied by bursts of laughter) to question this world, where we can no longer find each other and become increasingly estranged...

(So, perhaps you want to become a legend?)

Commentary in the Picture

JEAN-FRANCOIS OCTAVE, paintings, Stalke Gallery, Admiralgade 22, closes on November 21.

In addition to showcasing new Danish art, the Stalke team has made it their project to bring young artists from abroad to Denmark. The 32-year-old Belgian Octave is now presenting a series of square canvases, which can be arranged in various combinations depending on the desired impact—both in terms of content and form.

Octave represented Belgium at last year’s Biennale in Venice, where he exhibited an enormous series of “comic strip images.” His work is rooted in pop art but is clearly influenced by postmodern ideas about the varied meanings that arise depending on the chosen symbols and motifs. A standout piece is the large, rebus-like work titled Immortality. Here, past and present, God and the devil, are juxtaposed. The colors are bright, and the imagery resembles poster art.

The actual artistry lies in the question of how the individual canvas combinations come together. In other words, Octave represents a type of painting that we don’t often see here. All in all, he is a refreshing acquaintance.

Ole Nørlyng

Berlingske Tidende 14.11.1987

He is afraid that it is art

COPENHAGEN - "I am afraid that it is art!"

That is the title of a painting by the Belgian artist Jean-Francois Octave. He has thought a lot about whether his pictures are art, before reaching the above conclusion.

Jean-Francois Octave draws his inspiration from art history, from prehistoric and Cycladic art, from New York's graffiti artists and Italian Renaissance, and evidently also from certain comics, to then mix it all together into a nostalgic and melancholic project. In Octave's world, myths hold great significance. He admires them and fears them at the same time, and he uses them in his art. "Is art strategy? Is art tragedy?" Octave asks in the title of another painting and leaves the decision up to the audience.

Stalke Gallery in Copenhagen is today hosting an opening of a solo exhibition by the Belgian artist. The exhibition can be viewed until November 21.

Morgenavisen Jyllands Posten 30.10.1987

STALKE GALLERI - ENGLERUPVEJ 62 - 4060 - KIRKE SAABY - DENMARK - PHONE: +45 2926 - 7433

CONTACT:  STALKE@STALKE.DK

OPEN BY APPOINTMENT