Alliance Française du Bengale in association with the Consulate General of France in Kolkata, and Sampark publishing, Institut français India, recently inaugurated an exhibition of French artist Jacques Servieres at The Zs’ Precinct art gallery.
The preview of the exhibition called Ballade au Crayon Noir Where Heritage Meets Life by Jacques Servières was preceded by a book launch of Servieres’ work.
The book, called Calcutta Sketches is a compilation of 34 sketches by the artist which falls into the category of a travel journal and comes with a detailed foreword about Jacques’ month-long residency in Kolkata.
The 65-year-old artist, Jacques Servieres is a sculptor as well as a painter, who is well known for creating an open-air sculpture garden, on the banks of the river Marne in France. Gradually he moved into sketching and painting, a less strenuous form of creating artworks, with increasing age.
“My work is similar to that of a journalist; as somebody who goes about capturing several moments from the city, with a camera. I do the same thing with my pen,” says Jacques.
His subjects range from a cow, a church, a monument or even a car to a pool. “In the exhibition, you can see how the French can see and perceive your city. But I catch life directly, I don’t copy,” he informs.
The favourite subject of the artist’s works is small Indian markets, as they offer a flurry of activities and objects to depict. The diligent artist starts his day at 5:30 am in the morning to depict the city-life in all its splendor and glory. “When I work, I go into the streets and like to lose myself in the street. I try to give to you the smell of the scene that’s unfolding in front of me. It is difficult for me to explain how I do it, but it’s my heart and emotion which captures it, nothing methodical,” says the artist who now knows places like the Sarat Bose Road, Hazra Road, and Dover Lane very well now.
The only thing he rues about the city though is the traffic and the unruly drivers. So what is the next project that he is thinking of, we ask him- “Next time I will come with my colours and try to capture the colour of the yellow taxi and paint the rickshaw,” says the artist who has already been to cities like Pondicherry, Trivandrum, Goa, Panjim, and Chandigarh.
The exhibition Ballade au Crayon Noir: Where Heritage Meets Life by Jacques Servières will be open for public at The Zs’ Precinct till May 31, 11 am – 7 pm