For International Women’s Day

Vernissage of the exhibition on March 6 at 19:00

From March 7 to March 25, 2024, the Maison Russe in Brussels will host an exhibition of the works of the painter Philippe Biermé. A French artist, born July 25, 1945. He spent much of his childhood in the mountains of Valais Switzerland. He began his studies in a school located between Tournai (Belgium) and Lille (France). He quickly abandoned the “drawing” section to move towards photography. Already, he refuses to submit to external influences to remain in a world that belongs only to him.

Like any artist, he inevitably suffered, even before he turned twenty, from bookish influences which would mark him for life. This is how he discovered, with a sort of wonder at the age of 17, “The Divine Comedy” by Dante Alighieri.

He began to paint roofs which carry the nostalgia of his dreams, these roofs which invite a change of scenery, and also the disenchantment of the industrial district where he lives. These were first very beautiful gouaches and then oils in 1963 to illustrate Dante’s “Inferno”. Self-taught, he wants to be his only master and claims to follow only one path: his own. He paints with his fingers on the canvas and finishes his vision of things with a brush.

Like any lucid being, he sees the world of tomorrow as quite decadent and escapes from his reality by the dream he carries within him. However, he intends to dominate his inner demons which leave him no rest, despite his desire to join his angels.

The women painted by Philippe Biermé are not submissive women. The bodies, frontally, in profile or in three-quarter view, are tinted with olive green, blue, lilac or purple or simply white, but they are above all bodies in movement or at rest which express tranquility.

His numerous travels to Egypt, or more recently to Holy Russia, have also greatly inspired him, combining his interest in history, art, culture and religious imagery.