MaïMoon, In Quest of the Pattern of...
This young, 36-year-old woman moved to Marseille two years ago. From the...
By their color, their lines, their grace, Thierry Ona's paintings have seduced tens of thousands of households around the world. A popularity that this Mediterranean painter takes advantage of today to work new, more intimate, modes of expression.
Born in Algeria to Spanish parents, then with a childhood in the south of France in the Aude region, and today a sunny life at the gates of Montpellier, Thierry Ona has the Mediterranean in his DNA. So much so that when he paints, often, he feels the influence of the sea, and of his dear south. So he feeds his palette with bright and warm colors, including various shades of red, that he layers on his canvas to conjure up a matador, a dancer, a jazz musician, African warriors, a flower…They all have one thing in common, a grace and movement suggested with just a few brushstrokes, solid, linear backgrounds, strange creatures, a spidery face, with a
By Jerôme Dumur - Photos ONA - December 10, 2011
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long silhouette. Ona created this original world very quickly, right from his first steps in the art world. It was back in the 90s, just before he turned 30, during a time when this Southerner mainly sketched gardens. "I was a landscape illustrator when I met my wife, who is a painter." He fell in love with the artist, and was so fascinated by her art that he asked her to share her skills with him. "She taught me how to draw in classical form, to working color and materials. A few years of training and in 1994 I presented my first exhibition." Since then, the bashful student has come a long way…His works have conquered the entire world.
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His works have conquered the entire world. Ona is now represented by several galleries and collectors attracted by his increasing popularity, and his art is appreciated by hundreds of thousands of people who have chosen his colorful world to cheer up theirs. Indeed, Ona is one of the leaders of the reproduction art market. "I was noticed by International Graphics, one of the major players of this market, at a trade fair in Marseille . We worked on some posters to begin with, and success followed very quickly, to a degree we never imagined at the start. In 2006 and 2007 I was the most sold artist in the world, with tens of thousands of pieces sold each year. I won both recognition, and my financial independence." But he almost lost his soul, exploiting the tricks of success until
until they were almost worn out. "I stopped everything five years ago to reinvent my style." The new Ona arrived! His style is more sober, tending towards a graphic minimalism and, conversely, with deeper messages than ever. Substance prevails over style, and reflection - about the environment in particular - takes precedence over action. These are probably the effects of age, of a pronounced maturity. Even his palette has settled down, and is now softened with hints of green, brown, and white – a dangerous change of direction that the artist has expertly negotiated. "The public reaction is good. Many of those people who follow my work were in fact waiting for me to venture in new directions."
To see
After a two-month exhibition in New York, Thierry Ona is back in his south. From Dec 14 to mid January 2012, he is exhibiting his paintings in Beaucaire, between Arles and Avignon. Where? In the Espace Quai Nord du Canal, within the Duroy chocolate factory. Indeed the painter fell in love with the former head pastry chef at the Oustau de Baumanière - the best hotel in the Alpilles - and has designed, for the Christmas season, original chocolate boxes garnished with sweets by the master of the house, and "customized" by his guest. When a feast for the eyes becomes one for the tastebuds…
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