PAUL DE FLERS

The island of Pico forms one of the edges of the triangle of the Azoresarchipelago. A volcano dominates the entire island with its solemn stature. Madeof endless lava, the ground consists only of burnt stones, covering the westernside of the island with a black crust and volcanic vegetation. Its shores havefashioned a multitude of myths and legends in the artist’s work.

Paul de Flers’ paintings convey a lost paradise, with a stormy, intoxicatingatmosphere. By means of merging colors and blurry edges, the scenes proposethe viewer as witnessing an intimate moment, through a window misted withmemory.

Raul Brandão lyrically described the island in the late 19th century: “of uniquebeauty, of admirable color, it exerts a strange power of attraction on the visitor.“Paul de Flers’ work embraces this fascination. The viewer becomes a voyeurbefore the faceless figures painted by the artist.

These paintings evoke Edward Hopper transposed into nature, haloed withdreamlike haze. The blurriness seems to recall sensory memory. In the symbolismof the volcano, we encounter the childlike fascination with its energetic potential,like that of the child itself, alluding to our own internal violence.

It is impossible to miss the contrast between the name of the mountain that givesthe exhibition its title, and this space of light and gentleness. The palette,dominated by peaceful blue, recalls the work of August Macke, the youngExpressionist painter who at the end of his life focused on themes of nature andhumanity, much like Paul de Flers.

Press release courtesy Almine Rech. Text: Milena Oldfield.