The gallery Optica is showing a fabulous series of paintings by artist Yves Tessier.

The series titled Recent Situations comprises about 80 (!) small format paintings, which are hung side by side at eye level throughout the two large exhibition rooms. The largest painting is roughly letter-sized, the smaller ones about half the size of a postcard. They are painted in bright, flat colours, each object percisely outlined. The artist’s style of painting is strongly influenced by Etruscan frescoes, and the paintings are fresh and luminous, each one a small gem. There is no shading, it’s the simple, skillful line that gives each painting its vibrancy. Each painting depicts people in mundane yet intimate, every-day situations such as a couple preparing to go to bed, a girl with a leg cast lounging on a sofa, or a team of cyclists. The tiny size of each work forces the viewer to get very close to see all the details, and you feel as though you’re peeping into other people’s lives. There’s a wonderful variety of composition, and each person is an individual character, nearly a caricature. Interspersed with these scenes are empty landscapes from all over the world, vistas of seashores, cityscapes, and mountains. Looking at the complete series from the centre of the room creates a sense of omnipotence, as though you’re looking at the whole world with one glance. It’s a world that makes me smile.

Optica
space 508
Yves Tessier
Recent Situations
until February 23, 2008
www.optica.ca